Gravedigger
by enigma-kar
Summary: The Gravedigger, previously of 'Bones' fame, strikes at NCIS. Two agents are kidnapped and buried alive and it's up to the remainder of Team Gibbs to rescue them. But time is ticking...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **NCIS still isn't mine and neither is the concept of The Gravedigger.

_I started writing this a while back, but have only started publishing now that it's the holidays. :D It's worth mentioning that this _isn't _a _NCIS/Bones_ crossover. I am merely borrowing the Gravedigger character from _Bones_ for this _NCIS_ story. There are mentions of _Bones _characters in later chapters, however they make no personal appearance. _

_Enjoy and remember: Reviews = love. :)_

* * *

**One**

It started out as an ordinary day. No one knew it wouldn't end that way.

"Come on, McGee! I will love you forever if you do this for me."

"Tony, for the hundredth time, I'm not doing your paperwork," Special Agent Timothy McGee sighed a reply to his partner, equally Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

"You're the writer here, McGeek," Tony said.

"I write fiction," McGee pointed out, deadpanned. "Fiction, Tony. You even know what that is?"

"Yeah, I do. And it's certainly nothing like what you write."

McGee groaned, as the conversation turned to his novels. That was the last thing he needed. It had been nearly 3 years since he stopped writing, but Tony still refused to let it go. Thankfully, McGee was spared replying as their boss Special Agent Gibbs walked in.

"You got that report done yet, DiNozzo?"

"Just working on it now, boss. I'll have it to you by the end of the day," Tony quickly answered, not noticing the eye-roll McGee gave him.

"Good," Gibbs approved. "And don't let me catch you trying to ditch it onto McGee again."

"Got it, boss," Tony muttered, shooting a glare at the now grinning McGee.

The lift pinged a moment later and out stepped former Mossad Officer, and current NCIS Probie, Ziva David.

"Coffee's here!" she announced loudly, stepping into the squad-room before placing cups of coffee on the desks of their respective drinkers.

"That's my Probie ninja," Tony grinned a thank you. In a flash, Ziva's face was an inch away from his.

"Do not call me that," Her voice was soft and dangerous. "Remember what I said about paperclips, Tony?"

Tony swallowed and gave a nod, remembering their previous conversation vividly. Eighteen ways to kill someone with a paperclip; he hardly dared to think about it.

"Good," she smiled somewhat flirtatiously, before softly slapping his cheek and retreating.

"You'll do well to remember that, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated, taking a sip of his coffee.

With a slight moan, Tony returned to his report writing. More than ever he prayed Gibbs' phone would ring and they'd be given a case. While the death of a Naval Officer was nothing to hope for, being out in the field certainly beat desk work. Little did he know, his wish was just about to come true. But not in the way he expected.

The rest of the day passed quickly, despite the lack of phone calls. McGee disappeared down to Forensic Specialist, Abby Sciuto's lab for a few hours over lunch and not for the first time Tony suspected there was something going on between the two of them. Finally, his report of their last case was finished and Tony could leave.

"I am done!" he proclaimed triumphantly, placing the report on Gibbs' desk. His boss merely glanced up at him and they shared a look for a moment before Gibbs nodded in the direction of the elevator; a clear "Go on, get out of here," gesture.

Tony punched the air and turned to mock Ziva, only to find her desk empty. Gibbs gave a weak chuckle. "She left an hour ago, DiNozzo."

"Without saying goodbye?"

"Gee, I wonder why that would be," McGee said, looking up from his computer.

"McGee!" Tony protested. "Did you hear that boss?" he turned back to Gibbs, but the older agent merely shrugged.

"You'll see her tomorrow anyway," McGee said. Tony hummed, clearly not impressed or convinced.

"Whatever," he muttered. "I'm outta here."

"Me too," McGee said, standing up and stretching his fingers. "Boss, I emailed you that report you wanted."

Gibbs nodded a thank you, knowing his youngest agent would be impressed by his newly learned computer skills of opening, reading and even writing emails. It didn't take long for the two of them to pack their gear up and head towards the elevator.

"Night, DiNozzo, McGee."

"Night, Boss!" they chorused back, before leaving the squad-room empty, save for Gibbs.

"So, McGee," Tony began as they left the lift and walked across the carpark towards their respective cars, "you enjoy lunch today with a certain gothic forensic scientist?"

McGee shot him a glare, before replying, "Of course I did."

"Reeeaaalllly?" Tony drew the word out, obviously implying it was something more than just lunch.

"Tony..." McGee began, before being cut off by the sudden gunning of an engine and the squeal of tires. The two agents glanced at each other, frowning. Seconds later, before they could react, headlights were blinding the pair as they stood in the middle of the empty carpark.

"Tony! Look out!" McGee shouted and launched himself at his partner, pushing him out of the way of the rapidly oncoming car.

"McGee!" Tony watched in horror from his place on the ground, where McGee had shoved him. He thought of shouting another warning, not that it would have done any good; the car was too close and accelerating. Not even Gibbs would have had the reflexes to move now. Scrambling to stand again, Tony stumbled backwards into somebody. He only had a moment to comprehend this before he felt cold metal being pressed against his neck and the electricity shot through him. He was unconscious in an instant.

The edge of the car hit McGee and he was unceremoniously thrown down. The last thing he heard before his head cracked into the concrete was the screech of breaks as the car stopped and the opening of a car door as someone got out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and "The Gravedigger" are still not mine.

_I just want to say that I was completely overwhelmed with the number of people subscribing to this story and all the reviews. Thank you, guys! You really made my day! The plot thickens in chapter two... enjoy! :)_

_On another note, my knowledge of how a mobile phone actually works isn't great. Unsure if what is mentioned in this chapter can actually happen, but let's just pretend for the story's sake that it can. :P_

* * *

**Two**

Gibbs started to worry when the clock ticked past 9:00 AM and neither McGee nor DiNozzo had showed up yet. None of his agents had ever been two hours late, without something serious happening.

"Ziva, try Tony's cell, then home," he ordered, trying not to let the worry seep into his own voice before he picked up his own phone and tried McGee.

"Tony's cell is off and his home went straight to answering machine," Ziva answered a moment later. "Gibbs, is something the-"

"McGee isn't picking up either," Gibbs cut across her.

At that moment Abby entered the bullpen, wearing her usual platform boots and pigtails. "Gibbs. Gibbs Gibbs."

"A moment, Abs," he replied, feeling Ziva's worried eyes on him.

"Wait," Abby frowned in suddenly realisation as she looked around. "Where's Tony and McGee?"

After a glance at Gibbs, Ziva replied. "We do not know, Abby."

"What? Well, call their mobiles," Abby told them with wide eyes. She, too, knew how unlikely it was for them both to be late.

"Already have," Ziva told her. "They are off."

"Well... Tony, I can kind of understand. Remember when he was on that undercover mission, he came in late loads of times. But Timmy! He is never late. He doesn't do late. Oh God, something must have happened," Abby glanced, panicked, from Gibbs to Ziva.

"I don't know what's happened, Abs," Gibbs told her, "but I promise you, they'll be fine."

Abby breathed deeply. "Fine, yeah. They're probably both stuck in the same traffic jam or something." Ziva smiled to herself and was about to say something when Gibbs' mobile rang.

"Phone!"

"Is it Tony or McGee?"

Gibbs didn't answer. The number was blocked. It certainly wasn't Tony or McGee. In an instant the worst possible scenarios flashed into his mind. With a final glance at Abby and Ziva, he flipped the phone open and answered.

"Gibbs."

The voice on the other end was mechanical and one he didn't recognise. The words it spoke were enough to almost make his heart stop in fear.

"_Special Agents Timothy McGee and Anthony DiNozzo have been buried alive. You have 12 hours to w__ire transfer $6 million to the following Grand Cayman account or they will suffocate to death._" The account details were given and Gibbs numbly reached for a pen and quickly wrote them down, along with everything else the voice had said. All the while he ignored the expectant looks Ziva and Abby were giving him.

It continued. _"Upon receipt of the wire transfer, I will provide you with GPS Coordinates of the location of McGee and DiNozzo. This will be my last communication."_

Then dial tone.

"Who was it?" Ziva asked, straight to the point.

"Gibbs?" Abby frowned again, sensing the emotion change in her boss.

Gibbs slowly flipped the phone shut and continued writing. He wrote down everything else the voice had said. Years of training had served him well; we remembered every word. Only when he was finished did he look up and face Ziva and Abby.

"What's happened?" Ziva asked softly.

Gibbs sighed, there was no point in hiding it from them. "McGee and Tony have been kidnapped and buried alive."

The effect was instantaneous. Abby gasped in horror and clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening in shock and fear. Ziva simply stared at Gibbs stonily, her Mossad training taking over. Gibbs quickly relayed the rest of the message to the two of them.

"Six Million?" Abby exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Gibbs nodded the affirmative.

"Abs, I need you to run the bank account details and then-"

"Analyse the message. If it was a recorded voice, the sound file it originated from will still be in the phone's memory." Abby completed for him, taking the cell from his offered hand. "I'll get straight onto it."

"Good," Gibbs turned to Ziva. "I need you to do some research," he handed her his written notes. "See if anything like this has happened before, get into contact with anyone who may be able to help."

"On it, Gibbs," Ziva replied with a nod.

"What are you going to do?" Abby asked.

"Talk to Vance," Gibbs replied roughly, the shock and emotion nearly creeping into his voice. Abby remained where she was, still. The worry was clear on her face. Gibbs sighed slightly and gave a quick smile.

"I promise we'll get them back here safely, Abby," he told her as he collected her up in a hug.

"But Gibbs! We don't even know-"

Gibbs silenced her, by placing a finger on her lips.

"Trust me, Abs. I promise," and he pressed a reassuring kiss to her cheek before withdrawing and marching up to Vance's office.

Abby watched him go, before turning to Ziva. She was surprised to see the former Mossad with tears in her eyes as she tapped away on the computer.

"Ziva?"

"Very few people survive being buried alive," Ziva replied to the unspoken question, a tone of sorrow in her voice. "I've seen it a dozen times in Israel. They often run out of air before anyone can do anything," she looked up at Abby. "The voice on the phone was right. We have at minimum of 12 hours before they will-"

"Stop it!" Abby cried, the tears she had been holding back finally trickled down her face.

"Abby, I..."

"This is Tony and Tim we are talking about, Ziva! Don't you dare doubt them," Abby said, before turning and making it back to her lab in record time, a determined look set on her tear stained face.

Ziva closed her eyes for a moment after Abby disappeared and let the true horror of the situation sink in. She knew she should prepare for the worse. She knew she had to accept it, no matter how much it pained her. Abby may be able to trust Gibbs, but Ziva could not. Not when she knew, firsthand, what it was like to have a loved one buried alive. And not survive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and "The Gravedigger" do not belong to me.

_Wow, I'm still overwhelmed by the number of people liking this so far. Thank you, again! :) As promised - I bring some Tony and Tim hurt/comfort. It is a bit shorter than my previous chapters, but there will be more to come in future chapters too. _

_Hope this chapter makes sense and please enjoy! :) Reviews are love. _

* * *

**Three**

McGee awoke in a myriad of pain and blinked open his eyes with a moan.

"Oh thank God!" the familiar voice sounded relieved.

"Tony?"

"Yeah, McGee. It's me. You alright?"

"What do you think, Tony?" McGee replied, before attempting to sit up. He groaned with the effort and the pain it caused him. He hurt all over.

"Easy, Tim," Tony warned and McGee felt the pressure of a hand on his shoulder. "I think you hit your head and your leg..."

At his words, McGee was suddenly able to pinpoint the sources of his pain and became aware of the throbbing in his left leg. He looked down at it and instantly wished he hadn't. It was bent in a way legs shouldn't be bent. His jeans were coated in blood from a rather severe looking gash. The gash itself was tightly wrapped in what looked like Tony's jacket to stop the bleeding, but nothing could be done with the broken leg.

"Oh God..." McGee tore his eyes from the wound and groaned again, moving against the pain to prop himself up. "What happened?"

"We've been taken by aliens and mind probed," was the sarcastic reply.

"Tony. I meant about my leg."

"I think you were hit by a car. The last thing I remember is that car coming towards us..."

"I pushed you out of the way," McGee stated, glancing down at his leg again.

"Thank you," Tony whispered, genuine and worried in a way that was most unlike him. McGee looked up at his partner again. "You probably saved my life. And now you're..."

"You would have done the same for me," McGee told him.

"I'm the senior agent," Tony looked away, feeling guilty as though McGee's injuries were his fault. "I should have-"

"No, Tony," McGee cut him off. "Not your fault. It was my choice and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Thanks." And Tony managed a weak smile, which, despite the pain, McGee returned. The younger agent opened his mouth to say something in reply, but stopped as his head began pounding. He groaned.

"I must have hit my head when I was knocked down, too," McGee touched his head and winced. Flakes of dried blood covered his hand when he pulled it away.

"Looks like it," replied Tony. "But I can't remember."

"What do you mean?" McGee asked, with a sudden frown.

"As in I don't really know. I... I've got two marks on the back of my neck, I think I was hit with a stun gun. It's like I can't think really straight. All I know if that we're in a car. My car to be exact."

"Your car?" And McGee glanced around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was slumped in the back seat, leaning against the door. Tony was sitting in the front passenger seat. "Oh."

Tony nodded.

"How long was I out for?"

"Since we got here. Longer than me," Tony said, gravely. "I was worried for a moment there that you wouldn't wake up."

"Yeah, but where is here exact..." McGee trailed off as a stab of pain shot up his leg and he yelled in agony.

"You ok?" Tony instantly sounded both worried and sympathetic.

"My leg..."

"It hurts. Yeah, I don't blame you. Hold on," for a few moments McGee could hear Tony rummaging around in the front before his partner's face appeared before him. "Here, take these," and he offered two painkillers and a bottle of water. "It's not much, but it might help."

"Thanks," McGee muttered, taking the pills. After a minute of silence he spoke again, his voice only slightly slurred in pain. "So where are we?"

Tony smiled slightly. "In my car."

"Why's that again?"

"I dunno, McGee. But I've," there was more rummaging, "collected everything together that I had in the car. It might be useful."

"Useful?"

Tony sighed. His somewhat naive partner had still not realised it. "You noticed how it's looking rather dark outside at the moment, Tim?"

"Yeah."

"It's not night time." McGee still hadn't cottoned on. The pain had probably blinded him. "I think we've been buried alive."

"Buried alive?" That got McGee's attention and his eyes snapped open in a new found burst of energy.

"Yeah, McGee. Buried alive in my car."

McGee swore and Tony blinked in surprise. "Do you realise what this means, Tony? We probably only have... maybe 12 hours of air left in here. Wait, what's the time?"

"Oh eleven hundred."

"And we left the office last night at around 8:30. So nearly... 14 hours since we were taken. How long have we been buried?"

"One hours, tops. I could still hear the scraping of dirt when I gained consciousness."

"So only 11 hours of air left."

"Yeah, I gathered. I've had a while to think about that by myself, while you were out," Tony said, harsher than he intended.

"Sorry," McGee replied.

"Yeah, me too," Tony's voice softened.

McGee nodded and coughed slightly. The motion sent a stab of pain shooting through his leg. He winced, but managed to speak. "So what have we got in here?"

Thankful for the topic change, Tony gave him the list. "I've got the bottle of water, a packet of painkillers, tissues, my spare cell, a pen and a notepad."

"You've got your cell phone?"

"My second one. Was still in the glove box. My work phone was taken. Yours, too." McGee opened his mouth to speak again, but Tony cut him off. "I've already tried to get a signal. Couldn't get anything. It's turned off now anyway. The battery is dying."

McGee nodded, and then asked the question Tony had been pondering for the past hour. "Why were we kidnapped and buried alive?"

The question was left hanging. Neither of them knew.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NCIS, nor the Bones characters mentioned in this chapter.

_Thanks, again to everyone who has favourited and subscribed to this. Hope you enjoy this chapter. :)_

**

* * *

Four**

Gibbs marched into Vance's office without knocking. The director looked up, not at all surprised.

"Agent Gibbs," he greeted, leaning back in his chair. "What can I do for you?"

"I need $6 million, Leon."

Vance raised an eyebrow and he leaned forward again. "I know you've been talking about a pay rise for Miss Sciuto and the other members of your team, Gibbs, but-"

"McGee and DiNozzo have been kidnapped and buried alive. It's ransom money," Gibbs stated a reply.

"How do you know?" Vance asked, completely serious now.

"Phone call, just before," Gibbs told him the general gist of the message. "I've got Abby working on tracing the bank account and analysing the voice message."

"And David?"

"Researching. This may have happened before."

Vance nodded his approval. "I'll notify SECNAV of the hostage situation. But, Gibbs, you know the laws: no proof of life, no money."

Gibbs' face contorted in anger for a moment, before returning to its faux calm. "Laws can be bent, Leon," he pointed out.

"You know that better than anyone, Gibbs," Vance replied, before picking up his phone. "You do your job and I'll do mine. Keep me updated and I'll do the same for you."

Gibbs gave a brisk nod, but said nothing more before leaving. A few moments later he was back in the squad-room.

"What have you got, Ziva?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at her computer screen.

"A lot more than we were expecting," Ziva reported. "This has happened many times before, there has even been a book written about him, or her..."

"Who?"

"The Gravedigger," Ziva said.

"I need a proper name for this sonovabitch, Ziva!"

"There is none. They are simply known as the Gravedigger. And he... or she... is totally consistent," Ziva continued. "No one ever sees the victim taken. A ransom demand is made using a digitally altered voice."

"Digitally altered? Will Abby be able to trace it?"

"I don't know," Ziva admitted before continuing to read off the page. "Account details are given and if the money is paid GPS coordinates are given via the same mobile method."

"Tell me something I don't know," Gibbs told her.

"Ok, well the good news is there have been survivors. Though, none of them remember who took them. Each, however, were left with burn marks on the back of their neck."

"Stun gun?"

"Yes," Ziva agreed. "Victims are usually placed in a large container or a car which is then buried underground. Tracing of the cars and containers are said to lead to dead-ends. I'd trace them again, personally, but seeing as we have nothing much to go on at the moment..."

"Didn't need that reminder, Ziva," Gibbs told her. "We're on a time limit here."

"I know," Ziva muttered. If Gibbs noticed her morose tone, he said nothing of it.

"You got anything else?"

"Only that they never call again or communicate further, until the money is paid and they send the coordinates."

"This will be my last communication," Gibbs quoted.

"Exactly."

"That's good work, Ziva," Gibbs praised, keeping his voice as calm as possible. "Keep trying."

As Gibbs walked towards the lift, Ziva called after him.

"Gibbs!" he turned, looking expectantly at her. "The last victims were a Dr. Brennan and a Dr. Hodgins of the Jeffersonian Institute."

"So?"

"They work with the FBI," Ziva called back.

"Get onto them, find out everything you know," Gibbs said and saw Ziva nod the affirmative before he entered the lift and headed down to Abby's lab.

"What you got for me, Abs?" Gibbs entered her lab, a Caf-Pow in one hand. The first thing he noticed was the giant electronic countdown taking place on the plasma.

11:01:49

11:01:48

"In case we forget the time limit," the goth said by means of explanation, following his gaze. An hour had passed already. But Gibbs didn't think he'd be forgetting the time limit any time soon.

Gibbs nodded, but Abby was unable to tell if it was in approval or not. "What have you got?" he repeated.

"Not much," Abby replied. Gibbs turned his attention to her and didn't even blink at her makeup which was strewn down her cheeks by tears.

"Not much?"

"The call was untraceable, it was made on a burn phone. I was however," she turned to the computer and tapped away for a moment, "able to get the recorded message off your cell."

"Can you identify the voice?"

"Negative," Abby replied sadly. "The voice was recorded then digitally warped in so many different ways and then sent through the phone. It's so digitally... digitalised there is no way I can get a proper voice from it. And even if I could, it would take forever to match it to someone, even if they were on the database."

"Any luck on the bank account?"

"It's just a regular bank account, but completely empty. That's all I can tell you, Gibbs. Sorry."

"Ah, Abs. Don't be sorry. Not your fault," Gibbs reassured her with a brief hug, before filling her in on what Ziva had discovered.

Abby opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself as Gibbs' cell rang. Abby turned towards the phone, where it was plugged into her computer and handed it to Gibbs.

"Gibbs. You sure? Ok. I'll be right down," and he flipped it closed again.

"What's happened? You'll be right down? Down where? The only thing down is the carpark."

"Tim's car is still in the carpark."

"And DiNozzo's?"

"Not there."

"So he left last night and McGee didn't?

"They both did," Gibbs shook his head, as it dawned on him. He was still on base when it happened. He might have been able to stop it. He should have been able to stop it. "I watched them leave together in the elevator."

"They were taken in the carpark?"

Gibbs nodded. "Must have taken Tony's car too."

"Gibbs, they've been buried alive in Tony's car!" Abby linked what Ziva had found to this new information.

He nodded again, having made the same connection. "That was Jacob, the security man. They've found glass from a broken headlight and blood down there, near McGee's car."

Abby's eyes widened. "Tony? Tim?"

But Gibbs couldn't answer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I still do not own

_Apologies for this being such a short chapter. It just felt right to end it there. But I do promise to update sooner. :) Hope you like this and please leave a review. :)_

* * *

**Five**

"Maybe it's got something to do with your novel writing?" Tony suggested. They were going through possible reasons why they had been taken and buried to pass the time (and to attempt to lighten the foreboding situation). Nothing they had mentioned so far seemed plausible.

McGee scoffed, ignoring the pain in his leg and also his head. "Yeah, right. I think I'd had enough nutters trying to kill me and people I'm close to for one lifetime," he paused. "You sure it's not one of your exes?"

"Ha Ha Ha," Tony faux laughed. "That joke died out with the dinosaurs, McGee."

"Just a suggestion, Tony. There are quite a lot of them out there."

"Ha, as if they'd go to the trouble of burying us alive in my car."

"You saying you're not worth the effort?"

"That's not that I said," Tony protested, earning a weak chuckle from his partner. "Glad to see you've still got that sense of humour, McGee."

"Yeah, let's hope it lasts," McGee gave a grim smile, which faded quickly as a sharp throbbing of pain show up his leg.

Tony studied his partner's face, concerned. "More painkillers?"

"I just had some, Tony."

"You can have more, McGee. You don't have to be tough for me."

I'm not being tough and no, I'm good," McGee replied, not very convincingly. "I don't work well with taking lots of drugs."

"McGee, your leg's broken, your skull is probably cracked and you've got a gash the length of a keyboard down your other leg," Tony reminded him, softly. "I'm not going to judge you for taking the painkillers."

"I know, Tony," McGee smile slightly. "But I'm not taking so many drugs that it will affect my thinking. We need to keep a... a straight head for this. Especially since your own head's been slightly scrambled from a stun gun or whatever. You understand?"

"Ok, yeah," he said, somewhat reluctantly. Tony then paused, struck by a sudden thought. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"A movie?"

"Buried Alive."

"Why am I not surprised?" McGee groaned. "Even after having your head half scrambled by a stun gun you can still think of a movie which relates to our current situation."

"It's a gift," Tony proclaimed, earning a weak eye-roll from McGee. "Buried Alive, 1990. Basic revenge story. Tim Matheson plays this-"

"Please, Tony," McGee's tone was tired. "I don't need this right now."

"Sorry," Tony sounded genuine.

McGee grunted a thanks. He winced again as his leg throbbed and Tony shot him a sympathetic smile. Pushing the pain back, McGee sighed and glanced around the car. "You know, you should be glad I've got my claustrophobia under control."

"You have claustrophobia? And it's under control?"

"Had, Tony. I _had_ claustrophobia," in response to Tony's frown, McGee continued. "Abby recommended a psychologist who helps deal with phobias."

"They get rid of your fear of heights, too? Two-for-the-price-of-one dealing of multiple phobias, or something?"

McGee glared. "Drop it, Tony."

"Sorry, man. I'm just... I've never been in a situation like this, ok."

"Join the club."

"No more jokes or movie references, I promise."

"Really?" That was tough to believe, coming from Tony.

"Really really."

"That makes me feel so much better," McGee replied deadpanned and Tony barked out a laugh.

"Smooth one, McGee," Tony continued to laugh.

"You know that laughing will use up the air quicker than just breathing," McGee pointed out and Tony instantly closed his mouth.

"Thanks, McKilljoy," Tony retorted brashly.

McGee opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it. Now was not the time to get into a fight over such a petty topic when so much was at stake. "Sorry," he opted for muttered instead.

"Yeah, me too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NCIS.

_And we're back at NCIS for this chapter. I do hope you enjoy. :) Also - I'd like to thank anonymous reviewer _Cheryl _for leaving, quite possibly the most honest review I have ever received. Sorry this isn't containing enough Tony whump for you, but I'm a much bigger fan of Tim whump. :P_

_Anyway, everyone - please enjoy this and please leave a review. :)_

* * *

**Six**

When the lift arrived to take Abby and Gibbs to the basement carpark, Ducky and Jimmy were already inside.

"We've just heard. Ziva explained everything," Ducky told them and was instantly embraced by Abby. "There, there, Abigail," he comforted, patting her back. "I'm sure Timothy and Anthony can take care of themselves."

"Dr. Mallard's right, Abby. They'll be fine," Jimmy smiled at her. Both of them missed the worried glance Ducky and Gibbs shared.

The lift pinged again, signifying their arrival in the basement carpark. The four stepped out and followed the waiting security guard to the scene of the kidnapping. Already it has been roped off around the shattered glass and the small pool of blood.

"Is that...?" Abby trailed off, looking horrified at the blood. Sure, she'd seen blood before, but this was so much more personal. That blood came from someone she knew, someone she cared about, someone who could be dying right now.

Gibbs nodded from beside her, while Jimmy patted her shoulder awkwardly. Ducky and Gibbs went forward and began to examine the scene. Someone passed Gibbs a camera and he began snapping pictures. When he was done he turned to Abby.

"Alright, Abs. Take a sample of the blood. Find out whose it is. Take the glass too; we might be able to narrow this down by knowing what car was involved."

"I'm on it, Gibbs," Abby replied, before getting to work. Gibbs watched her work and then retreat back to her lab, with the promise of being up to see her results soon. ("Gibbs, I can't make my machines work that quickly!" Abby had protested. Gibbs silenced her with a look. "Ok, I'll work it out.")

"It looks like a car accident," Ducky muttered and Gibbs voiced his accord. "I'd be willing to wager that whoever's blood this is, was hit by the car that glass belongs to."

"That's my thoughts exactly, Duck."

"Jethro, is there anything I can do?" Ducky then asked, looking up at his friend. The two of them knew full well, neither Ducky nor his assistant were needed until there were bodies.

"Nothing at the moment, Duck," Gibbs answered truthfully. "But thanks."

"Anytime, my friend," Ducky answered, clasping a comforting hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "We will get them back."

"Yeah, I know. I just don't know if it will be in one piece."

Ducky simply nodded carefully, before signally to Jimmy to accompany him back to the autopsy room.

"Coming, Doctor," Jimmy replied and in moments the two were entering the lift and leaving.

Gibbs nodded, before turning to Jacob the security guard once more. "There any cameras down here?"

"Just the one, sir. It's positioned on the entry and exit gate."

"Ok, I'll need copies of all the footage from 7:00 PM last night until 8:00 AM this morning."

"I'll get them for you now, sir."

Gibbs, left the scene, knowing there was little more he could get from it and followed Jacob up to get the tape. Hopefully it would contain something useful.

~ *XX* ~

Abby put the blood sample into Major Mass-Spec, before turning back to her computer which was hooked up to a microscope looking at the glass piece. Truthfully, there wasn't much she could pull from it until she had something to compare it to.

She was spared the thought of not having anything to do, by the arrival of Ziva.

"Ziva," she greeted stiffly.

"Abby."

The silence between them was deafening.

"Why don't you have your music on?" Ziva asked with a frown.

"Why do you think?" Abby retorted.

With a sigh, Ziva stepped forward and sat herself down on a spare chair. "Abby, about before..."

"If you're here to tell me how little hope there is for Tony and McGee, I don't want to hear it."

"I'm not," Ziva assured her. "I just wanted to explain myself. I overreacted before when I found out what happened."

Abby didn't reply and the former Mossad continued, looking down and talking to her clasped hands in a very un-Ziva like manner.

"Back in Israel, before NCIS when I was still with Mossad, my best friend from my unit was buried alive."

Abby's eyes widened in shock. "Oh God, Ziva..."

"No one realised she was missing until it was too late. She was dead when we finally found her body. I just wanted you to know why I overreacted earlier. This is... bringing back painful memories," Ziva looked up at Abby. "I can still see her face in my mind."

"Oh, Ziva!" And Abby suddenly enveloped her in a hug. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

Ziva smiled weakly into Abby's shoulder. "I know, Abby. I know."

"I promise never to yell at you again," Abby muttered. "And we will get Tony and McGee back. I'll make sure of it. You won't have to go through this again."

"Thank you."

The moment was somewhat interrupted by the sharp beep of the Mass Spectrometer.

"My baby!"

Abby tapped on the keyboard a few more times, to bring up the results and run them against the samples of Tony and McGee's blood already on the system. Another second later the results had been confirmed and the image of a smiling McGee appeared on the screen.

The words "positive match" flashed in green underneath it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **NCIS is not mine.

_First, I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I have been busy and distracted with various things including the finale of _Merlin _and the MUSE concert I went to last night (It was epic!) But on with this chapter... :) Hope you enjoy, we're back with the boys for this one. Reviews are love. :)_

**

* * *

Seven**

"Do you think they know we're missing yet?" McGee asked, wincing through the pain in his leg.

"Of course they do, McGee!" Tony said, trying to sound jovial. McGee groaned and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they do," Tony repeated more seriously. "You know what Gibbs is like. He probably knew we were missing the moment we were taken. That gut of his knows all."

McGee gave a weak smile, then suddenly frowned as a thought hit him; a memory from a few years back.

Tony recognised the look. "What?"

"Tony, I think I know what's happened!" The excited thought succeeded in pushing the pain to the back of McGee's mind. "Do you remember a few years back when that famous anthropologist was kidnapped and buried alive?"

"No," Tony replied, as thought it was obvious.

"It was all over the news, Tony. Special broadcasts on all channels."

"We deal with news worthy stories every day, you think I want to go home and relive it all by watching the news?"

McGee didn't answer that question, but rather continued his story. "According to the stories she had been taken by someone who's been dubbed as the Gravedigger. He left a ransom note to her partner with the FBI, demanding $8 million."

"What happened?"

"I think she survived. But all the news channels had a guy begging this Gravedigger for more time to raise the money."

"You think we've been kidnapped and buried alive by Gravedigger?" Tony sounded sceptical.

"You got any other ideas?"

"Not really, no. The idea that it was another one of your nutter fans or one of my exes kinda lost its spark about an hour ago."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before McGee broke it with another groan; the pain returned in his leg, stronger than before. Both he and Tony knew that if he didn't get proper medical attention, the gash would get infected and he could lose his leg. Not that it mattered when running out of air would probably kill them both first if they weren't found.

"You alright?" Tony asked the redundant question, before wincing sympathetically and offer him more painkillers. "Here, numb the pain some more." McGee opened his mouth to argue, but Tony cut him off, "Don't refuse, McTough. Being in pain is not going to help your thinking."

"Cheers, Tony," McGee replied weakly, taking the pills gratefully and deciding arguing with Tony would be a waste of energy. He moaned again and closed his eyes briefly, praying the extra drugs would do their job quickly. Opening his eyes again, he looked Tony in the eye. "We need to think of a way to extend our air supply. If we can give ourselves a few extra hours or even minutes of air, we're giving the others more time to find us."

Tony nodded. "Airbags?"

"They're not actually filled with air."

"Oh."

"I was thinking spare tyres. Have you got any in the boot?"

"Yeah, just the one though," Tony answered.

"It's as good as any."

"How will we get to it? It's in the boot."

"Rule 9?"

"Always carry a knife," Tony recited with a grin. "Wait..." his smile faded. "You want to cut through the backseat of my car to get into the boot? My car?"

"Tony, the car is already buried underground. We're buried alive. I think the last concern here should be for your car. If we ever get out of here, I'll split the cost with you anyway."

Tony sighed, before smiling slightly. "Sure, McGee. Deal. You got your knife?"

"In the heel of my left boot. You?"

"Belt buckle."

McGee nodded. "You'll have to get mine for me, my leg..."

"Sure," Tony said before carefully extracting the knife without disrupting the broken leg. He then undid his belt and removed the knife hidden in the buckle.

"Alright, you care to join me back here?" McGee asked. "Just mind my leg, yeah?"

Tony nodded and after a few moments of struggling and rearranging, the two agents were seated in the backseat of the car, McGee's legs stretched out into the front.

"I think you need to get a bigger car, Tony. There's hardly any room in here."

"It's a vintage Mustang, McGee. It isn't meant to be spacious," Tony retorted and McGee gave a shrug as if to say 'fair point'.

"You ready for this?"

"Ready to destroy my car by carving a hole from the backseat to the boot? Sure, I'm ready."

McGee couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Ok then."

And the two of them began plunging their knives into the soft leather seat of the Mustang, with the aim of reaching the boot and the extra air it provided.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I still do not own NCIS, nor the characters mentioned.

_Before I get on with this chapter I do want to address another anonymous review I received. In response to said review - I do apologise if it seems I have reduced Tony to "a virtually useless flunky." I assure you, it was completely unintentional. And I had rather hoped to continue the story line of Tony's head being scrambled by the stun gun (hence why he may appear "really useless" at times)... Furthermore, McGee has always been my favourite, so that may shed some insight as to why this story is more concentrated on him at this point in time and not as balanced._

_While the last thing I want to do is offend any of my readers, I just wanted to explain myself there._

_Anyway... I apologise for digressing and now onto the chapter. We're back at NCIS again. Hope you enjoy it. Also, since there are some more references to Bones, I should mention this takes place between Bones series 4 and 5, when Booth is recovering from surgery. _

* * *

**Eight**

"Gibbs!" Abby called him as soon as she got the results, trying not to let the panic overwhelm her. They didn't have the time. But it was McGee's blood. Timmy's blood! She felt like breaking down into tears at the thought of what could have happened, but forced herself to continue. "I've got the results of the blood test. It's McGee's."

"Ok," Gibbs said gravely.

"Oh and Ziva has something to tell you, too," Abby added as Ziva gave an urgent hand gesture.

"I'll be right down."

And he was. Within minutes he was walking through the door of Abby's lab again. His eyes were, once again, automatically drawn to the countdown clock.

9:45:08

9:45:07

"The blood's McGee's?" he turned and asked, worry filling his eyes.

"Yeah," Abby muttered. "Will he be alright, Gibbs? Tell me he going to be alright."

Gibbs didn't reply instantly. After a moment he turned to Abby and Ziva with a rather forlorn sigh. "It looks as though the glass and the blood in the carpark are the result of an accident. McGee was probably hit by the car."

Abby refrained from gasping in horror, but could do little to stop her lip trembling slightly. She realised Gibbs was correct and there was no point denying it - McGee had been hit by a car. "Will he be alright?" she repeated.

Gibbs turned away from her, not wanting to hear or answer her questions. He didn't want to contemplate losing another agent. "Ziva? You got something?"

"Yes, Gibbs," Ziva answered immediately, casting a brief worried look at Abby. "I spoke to Fornell. Apparently the two scientists weren't the last victims. Last victim was FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. It was kept very quiet. He was the leading agent with the FBI working on the Gravedigger case, but he is in hospital at this moment."

"What?"

"Special Agent Booth, he is partnered with Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian. But, he's recovering in hospital after emergency surgery. Fornell wouldn't disclose any further details."

"This sonovabitch has taken some scientist and a FBI Agent, why is he targeting my people?" Gibbs was outraged.

"There may be no connection, Gibbs," Ziva continued. "I just know they were the last victims and they all survived."

"And before that...?" Abby asked, guessing what was coming.

"Before that, random people were taken. There was no connection between any of the previous victims. Most of them died, some survived if the money had been paid," Ziva riffled through her notes. "Some old, some young."

"No connection." Gibbs repeated the statement. Ziva shook her head.

"So the FBI cannot help us." she stated.

"Not this time," Gibbs said gruffly. Turning to Abby he spoke again. "Abs, I got the footage from the carpark last night. Can you bring it up and tell me what you can get?"

"Sure thing, Gibbs," Abby replied, taking the disc he offered and inserting it into her machine.

"It's just the one camera on the entry and exit. That's all the security they've got down there, unfortunately."

"Ok," was all Abby said before she began typing away, fast-forwarding until she found what she was after. There it was. A single, unauthorised, black Ford Escape entering the carpark at 7:33:53 PM. "Gottcha!"

"Can you get a plate off that, Abby?" Ziva asked.

Abby zoomed in on the footage and her heart sank slightly. "I would if it had plates."

"An unmarked vehicle?"

"Looks like it, Ziva," turning to Gibbs she continued. "Sorry, Gibbs, but tracing an unmarked car will be hard and we don't have the time to..."

"I know, Abs. Ziva, find out if any black Ford Escapes have been reported missing or stolen in the DC area."

"On it," Ziva replied before leaving and heading back to the empty bull-pen.

"You got footage of them leaving the carpark?" he turned back to the screen as Abby fast-forwarded again. 8:17:11 PM. The black Escape was shown leaving the carpark, towing Tony's Mustang behind it.

"Just the one assailant?"

"Could be, the resolution is crappy at best and with tinted windows I can't tell you," Abby said.

"I wasn't holding out on it, Abs," Gibbs admitted. "Try both Tony and McGee's cells again, just in case and then-"

"Gibbs!" Abby's eyes widened as she had a sudden realisation. "Did you try Tony's second mobile?"

Gibbs frowned and then his own eyes widened in horror as it occurred to him that he hadn't. It took less than a minute for Abby to call the number and get the message response.

"It's off, too."

Gibbs sighed and bit back a curse. He turned to leave again, feeling that if he kept still for long enough the worry would eat into him and he wouldn't be able to function. He'd go up and check on Ziva, he decided. "Abs, check the glass from the carpark against the database of-"

"But, Gibbs, we already know from the footage that it's a Ford-"

"Just do it, Abs," Gibbs replied harsher than he had intended. He sighed as Abby glared at him slightly. "I need it to be double checked."

Abby gave him a grim smile. "I know."

Gibbs nodded one last time before leaving and heading back to the squad-room, wishing the feeling of helplessness would ease. He hated not being able to do anything.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NCIS

_Just a quick note to say thanks for all the supportive reviews I got. :) You guys are all fantastic! Hope you enjoy this chapter - we're back with Tony and Timmy for this one. :)_

* * *

**Nine**

Ten minutes later, they broke through into the boot. Not only did the extra space in the boot contain extra air, but they now had access to the spare tyre and the air it contained. The two agents breathed a sigh of relief.

"How much extra air will this give us?" Tony asked.

McGee did a rough calculation in his head. "I'd estimate about another hour."

"An extra hour for them to find us."

"Which will be amazing, seeing as we don't actually know where we are," McGee muttered.

"Hey, they'll find us," Tony sounded confident.

"How Tony? Seriously?"

"They'll pay the money and they'll get told where we are, right? That's how it works with this guy, right?"

"Yeah," McGee admitted, sighing and shifting slightly against another sharp pain in his leg.

"And you're rich from all your novel writing. They'll have no trouble."

"I'm not that rich, Tony."

"Depends on how much we're worth. How much he's demanded."

"Yeah..." McGee trailed off as he was struck with another idea. "You got anything else in that boot which might be useful?"

"Just the toolkit, jump leads and a towel," Tony reported and McGee inwardly sighed; he knew none of those items would be much use.

"Ok..."

"Hey, if we could get a signal on my cell, would it be possible to send a message? I mean, this far underground?" Tony asked.

"_If _we can get a signal, yeah. But you said you couldn't earlier." McGee said with a frown.

"So we'd just have to make the antennae longer then, right?" Tony said, breaking into a small grin.

"What?"

"Jump leads, Tim!" Tony said excitedly as he reached into the boot for them. "We can use the jump leads to create a longer antennae for my cell. We could stick it out the window through a hole in the dirt or something. Maybe we could get a signal! You could do that, right?"

McGee's eyes widened and then he broke into a grin too. "That's brilliant, Tony! Maybe that stun gun didn't scramble your brains too much after all." Tony grinned back. "Ok, pass me the leads," McGee said and Tony obliged. "I should be able to do this." And for a few minutes neither said anything as McGee worked on the leads.

"You know, it's like what Ziva and I did that one time when we were boxed up in the shipping crate."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, we used her necklace..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling depressed. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

McGee stopped working and sighed, before meeting Tony's eyes. "I don't know."

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that."

McGee gave a grin, despite the dark turn the conversation had taken. "You know me too well, DiNozzo."

"Well it's been nearly six years."

"It's been a good six years," McGee agreed, turning his attention back to the wires.

"Hey!" Tony leaned forward and clapped a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Don't talk like that, as though it's the last six years we'll ever have."

"I didn't mean it like that," McGee muttered. "I... I'm glad you're here with me, Tony."

"Thanks, Probie."

"You haven't called me 'Probie' for ages," McGee frowned.

Tony chuckled, "You'll always be my Probie, Probie."

"Like Franks and Gibbs," McGee said. Tony nodded and the two of them sat in silence, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Ok, that's done it," McGee looked up from his work. "You got your phone?"

"Here."

"How much battery power did you say it had?"

"Not much."

"Enough to turn it on and check if we'll get a signal?"

"I dunno," Tony admitted.

"Ok," McGee glanced up briefly before looking back down at the phone and the wire now attached to the existing antennae. "Do you think we can wind down the window a bit and make a hole for it?"

"Yeah, I can try," Tony replied, before slowly winding it down. In an instant, clumps of dirt showered down on him. Tony coughed and brushed it away before the soil onslaught stopped. "This soil's thick and damp, like in a forest. Shouldn't be too hard to create a hole in. You got something I can dig with?"

McGee handed him a spanner from the cars toolkit. Tony muttered his thanks before creating a small hole with the spanner, pressing it metal as far up and out of the car as he could.

"Ok, I've made is as far up as it can go."

"Let's hope we're not buried that far down," McGee said. "Now, if we do have a signal, what do we do?"

"Send a message?"

"But what? We can't exactly tell them where we are, can we?"

McGee hummed in thinking.

"I've got it," Tony said after a moment. "We'll send a text to Abby with just the word 'trace'. If we can keep the phone on and with a signal for long enough, Abby should be able to trace it and know where we are, right?"

"Good idea, Tony."

"You're right. My brain's not that scrambled," Tony replied and McGee suppressed a scoff.

"Right, you ready for this?" McGee asked, carefully passing the phone with extended antennae to Tony. "Just position it gently and switch it on. Depending on how much battery you've got left you may not have much time."

"Don't worry, McGee. My texting is lightening fast."

McGee laughed slightly, "Ok then. Ready?"

Tony nodded and switched the phone on. It immediately bleeped at him notifying of the low battery. But, there in the top left corner were two bars of signal and the name of the nearest tower.

"We got signal, McGee." he announced and the other gave a small cheer. Quickly he went into messages and started typing away, adding not only 'trace' but also the tower name. Seconds later he hit send and the message was sent to Abby.

"Done," Tony said.

"Good. Keep the phone there with the signal and let's hope it lasts long enough for Abby to trace it."

"Yeah," Tony agreed, turning to smile at his partner.

It was all up to Abby now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **NCIS is still not mine.

_I'm really sorry that it took me a while to update and also that this chapter is shamefully short. I hope you still enjoy this and I promise to update quicker next time with a longer chapter. :) Reviews are love._

* * *

**Ten**

"Any news, Leon?" Gibbs, still frustrated at his helplessness, visited Vance again.

"I was just about to call," Vance said, his face somehow reflecting the helplessness Gibbs felt. "I'm afraid SECNAV are going by the laws, Gibbs. No proof of life, no money."

"Ah, to hell with the laws!" Gibbs growled, feeling the anger rise up in him.

"Where are you going to get the money from? And even if you can bring together six million, going against the law will lose you your job."

Gibbs didn't know the answer to the former question, but he was sure as hell that the lives of two of his agents were worth more than his job. And Vance knew it, too.

"I can get the money together," Gibbs said, adamant.

"It'll have to be outside the agency. Totally private."

"Think I don't know that?" Gibbs retorted.

"Listen, Gibbs. I know how you must feel and I know how tough this is for you. But I don't think this is the solution."

"Yeah," Gibbs slowly admitted. He was saved by any further depressing conversation when his phone went off. Abby's excited and rushed voice was so loud it nearly deafened him.

"GIBBS! I'VE GOT SOMETHING! GET DOWN HERE-"

Gibbs shot a final look at Vance, before running to the lift.

~ *XX* ~

Abby nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise when her phone went off. Opening it and reading the sender of the message, her eyes widened. Seconds later she was reading the message and then began tapping away on her computer initiating the trace.

"Come on, come on!" she yelled at the computer, frustrated with its slowness. Hitting the speed dial on her speaker phone, she called Gibbs.

"_Gibbs."_

"GIBBS! I'VE GOT SOMETHING! GET DOWN HERE-" She stopped abruptly as her computer beeped.

"No, you were nearly there! Ah, NO! No, no no!" The signal on Tony's phone had been lost and the trace had stopped.

"Abby?" Gibbs ran in at that moment, his eyes wide. "Abby, what you got?"

"Gibbs!" she turned. "It was Tony. He text me."

"What? Where are they, Abs?"

"The signal dropped out, though Gibbs..." she trailed off, looking stricken.

"Just tell me where."

"Jefferson National Forest, near the border," she said softly. "Tony sent me the message, "Blacksburg" and "trace". Presuming Blacksburg is where he's getting the signal from and trace sort of speaks for itself. But the phone must have lost battery or something, because I lost the signal before I could narrow it down to a quarter mile radius."

"How far did you get?"

"Two miles," she raced over to the printer and pulled out a map and handed it to him. "It's a long drive and I'm sorry I couldn't get a better... but..."

"Thanks, Abs," Gibbs cut her off and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Bring them back, Gibbs," she said as he turned and prepared to leave.

"I will," he walked back and placed a kiss on her cheek before leaving, flipping his cell open to call Ziva.

Abby turned back to her plasma and the countdown occurring on it.

7:03:32

7:03:31

Where had the time gone?

Getting into the lift, Gibbs connected with Ziva. "Ziva, gas the car and get Ducky and Palmer."

"_We have a location?"_

"Jefferson National Forest, near Blacksburg."

"_That is nearly a seven hour drive, Gibbs."_

"Not if I can help it," Gibbs replied gruffly before hanging up. He then dialled Vance's number.

"_What've you got, Gibbs?"_

"Money's not gonna be a problem, Leon."

"_What happened?"_

"We've located them then. Text was sent to Abby from Tony with their latest location. We got it down to a two mile radius before the signal cut out."

"_Looks like DiNozzo is smarter than we though." _Gibbs couldn't help but agree. _"You keep me informed, Gibbs," Leon then said seriously. _

"Always do, Leon," Gibbs replied.

"_You'll bring them back, Gibbs."_

Gibbs didn't respond.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, you guess it - NCIS still isn't mine.

_And we're back to out boys in this chapter again and it's starting to get a little depressing for them. And I'm starting to bring a bit of pairing into this now. That is - Abby/McGee and Tony/Ziva. I may expand on that later, too. Anyway I hope you enjoy. :)_

* * *

**Eleven **

"Damn!" Tony swore as his cell gave one last final bleep before switching itself off.

"What?"

"Cell just died," Tony answered, before withdrawing the cell from dirt and struggling to wind up the window for a moment. He turned to McGee when he was done. "Do you think Abby would have got a trace?"

"I dunno, it's hard to say."

"Yeah, I figured."

Again they sat in silence for a while before Tony asked after McGee's leg and offered him more painkillers. McGee accepted them gratefully.

"Do you think the air's getting a bit thin?"

McGee hadn't noticed, but at Tony's question he instantly felt as though his lungs weren't getting enough oxygen. "Yeah... maybe."

"You think it's time we puncture that spare?"

"Now?"

"Now. Later. Is it really going to matter?"

"Probably not," McGee agreed and he shifted slightly to allow Tony access to the carved hole and the tyre. A pop was heard and then the hissing of air. McGee breathed deeply.

"How long has it been?"

"Four hours."

"So, seven more to go with that extra hour." McGee said. "Can you pass me that notepad and paper?"

Tony frowned but did as asked. "What's that for?"

"If we don't make it, I want to-"

"What? Write a death note? A will?" Tony reached forward to snatch the pen and pad back, outraged that his friend was speaking so pessimistically. "I'm not allowing you to write that, McGee. We're going to get through this."

They scuffled for a brief moment, McGee managing to keep a hold on the two items, mainly because of the cramped room and of Tony's fear of hurting him.

"It's not a death note or a will, Tony," McGee said wearily as the older agent retreated again, leaning back against the other side of the car. "It's... a letter."

"A letter? Who to?" Tony demanded an answer.

McGee looked down at his hands for a few moments before looking back up at Tony's expectant face. "Abby," he muttered quietly.

"Abby? Our Abby?"

"Yeah, Tony. Abby. Happy now?"

Tony was silent.

"And I'm not being pessimistic or giving up hope," McGee continued. "I still have faith in Gibbs in finding us. I just want to be prepared and to write this now, while I have a clear head and while... while I can still breath."

The other nodded, finally understanding. He didn't ask what the letter would be about, he somehow already knew the sort of thing it would contain. "Sorry, Tim," he muttered and watched as McGee shot him a grim smile and nodded before beginning to write. "Can I have that after you?"

"Sure, Tony. Of course."

Silence ensued, as McGee wrote. Then after tearing the pages off, he handed it to Tony without a word. If the older agent noticed the tears in his Probie's eyes he said nothing. He knew better than to. Roughly ten minutes later, Tony finished and ripped the pages off, placing them in his pocket. Involuntary tears shone in his own eyes.

"Who'd you write to?" McGee asked. It was only fair, Tony knew who he'd written to.

"Who do you think, McGee?"

"Gibbs?"

"You think I'd write to Gibbs?"

"Well..."

"Ziva."

"Oh."

Tony simply nodded.

"You two are kinda close," McGee observed, shyly.

"As are you and Abby."

McGee smiled. "Yeah..."

"D'you ever regret breaking it off with her, McGee?" Tony asked, his voice, was not teasing, but serious and somehow supportive.

"Sometimes," McGee admitted. When Tony raised a sceptical eyebrow at him, he changed his answer. "Yeah."

"Figured," Tony nodded.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen that jealousy between you two when the other starts even talking to someone of the opposite sex."

"You noticed that too, aye?"

"I'm pretty sure the whole building knows, McGoo."

McGee nodded again and silence fell between them again. Tony had the feeling his partner wanted to say something else, but didn't prod him for it. This had to be one of the most serious conversations with McGee he'd ever had. It had to take being buried alive with only seven hours left to live for them to open up to each other.

"I never told her, you know," McGee said quietly.

"What?"

"How much she means to me and..." he paused, to collect himself, whether against the pain or the emotion, Tony didn't know. Perhaps a combination of the two. "... and how much I still love her."

Tony was silent. In a different situation he would have teased the younger agent; perhaps telling how he never knew the Probie was capable of such feelings. But not today, not now and not in this situation.

"I know how you feel," Tony muttered after a while. McGee looked up at him, questioning.

"Ziva?"

Again, in a different set of circumstances, Tony would have scoffed and laughed and denied it. Instead he nodded, making sure McGee saw it.

"Yeah, Tony. I know."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:**NCIS does not belong to me. It remains property of CBS

_Major apologies for the delay in updating. The festive season (and the resulting celebrations/parties with family/friends) has been keeping me busy. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday/Festivus (etc). :) And I hope you all enjoy this chapter too. I promise to update sooner next time. Oh and warning for a depressingly cheesy ending to this chapter. :S _

_Please leave a review. :)_

* * *

**Twelve**

"The car is gassed and Ducky will be following soon," Ziva announced as Gibbs entered the building carport. It took less than 30 seconds for Gibbs to nod, get in the car and drive out, leaving the squealing of tires behind him.

"You know the way, Gibbs?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah, I do."

Ziva sighed, her Mossad training keeping her from being overly worried or nervous. "It's going to be a long drive," she said calmly. However, inwardly she thought, 'let's hope we're not too late.'

~ *XX* ~

Back in the NCIS garage, Ducky and Palmer prepared their equipment and gurneys. They both hoped they wouldn't have to use the latter.

Just as they were about to drive out, Abby came flying out of the lift, carrying a large and obviously heavy bag.

"Oh thank God!" she said. "Ducky, Palmer, I'm coming with you."

"But, Abby..." Palmer began.

"No, Jimmy. I'm coming," she said firmly before turning to Ducky. "I can't sit here and do nothing except worry, Ducky. I..." she chocked on the words. "I just can't."

The doctor smile knowingly at her. "I know, Abigail."

Abby smiled slightly. "Besides, I'm the only one who's got metal detectors. Even when we get out there, we've still got a 2 mile radius to search."

"I didn't know you had metal detectors," Palmer said. "That's perfect, Abby!"

"So is there room in the front there for me?"

"Of course," Ducky and Palmer replied together.

Moments later the trio were on the road, following the route the GPS set out for them. ETA: 6 hrs 35 mins flashed up on the tiny screen.

Time was running out.

~ *XX* ~

"You are worried?" Ziva asked Gibbs, turning to glance at the older man.

As per his usual stony silence, he didn't reply. Instead his mind took him back to the last time someone had asked him that. It had been Kate, when Tony was lost and chained to a criminal. He hadn't replied to her then, not that that had stopped her from making her own conclusions from his silence. Distantly he wondered if Ziva would do the same.

"No, I didn't think so," Ziva continued, as though replying to an unseen reply. "I am not worried either. Tony and McGee and more than capable of looking after themselves, not like..." she trailed off.

"You trying to convince yourself or me, David?"

"Myself," Ziva murmured after a moment's pause. Gibbs took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at his agent, frowning slightly. "You ok?"

Ziva considered not telling him, but knew there was no point in hiding it. "Back in Mossad, in my unit... my best friend was buried alive." Gibbs said nothing. "No one noticed she was missing until it was too late. I can still remember her face when we found her. So many times I regret not being able to save her. And I..."

"...don't want to relive it," Gibbs finished for her and out of the corner of his eye he saw her nod.

"Yes."

"You're not going to, Ziva," Gibbs replied gruffly and somehow, Ziva found the strength to trust him.

They remained silent, both of them caught up in their own thoughts and prayers, neither game to share them.

~ *XX* ~

Abby sat rigid, her hands clenched so tightly together the whites of her knuckles were showing. As much as she didn't want to think about it, her mind kept going back to Tony and Tim, stuck underground, slowly running out of air.

"Abby?" Palmer said in a tone which suggested he was repeating her name for a second or third time. "You ok?" He looked at her with worry-filled eyes.

"What do you think, Jimmy?"

"Uh, sorry... stupid question."

Abby forced her face to soften slightly. "It's ok," she smiled.

"We will bring them back, you know," Palmer said.

"I know," Abby replied automatically.

"And everything will go back to normal," he gave a too-wide smile. Abby nodded in accord.

"It will. And we'll go out to lunch to celebrate. And Tony will talk about which movie related to... to what happened. And Timmy will groan and roll his eyes. And Gibbs will give Tony a head slap. And..." She broke off, tears slowly cascading down her cheeks. She gave Palmer a watery smile and he gave her an awkward one-armed hug. They both knew the conversation was completely full of false hope and reassurance, but it somehow beat the heavy silence that surely would ensue.

And sitting behind the wheel, with his eyes locked on the road, Ducky listened to their conversation and allowed himself a small smile. It may have sounded like false hope, but it was hope nonetheless.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, you guessed it - NCIS and The Gravedigger character are not mine.

_And we're back with our boys again, where the situation is starting to get a little bit desperate and they're starting to get a little hysterical. Hope you enjoy. :)_

_Oh and for those who are following my other holiday fic, "The Hangover", I'll be updating that soon, too. Just thought I'd mention it, as I usually update these together. :)_

_And, lastly - Happy New Year to you all. :D_

* * *

**Thirteen**

Tony and McGee sat together in silence for what seemed like an age.

An hour passed.

And then another. And Another.

Fragments of conversation were whispered only occasionally as though they were afraid to speak and waste more air.

Time seemed as though it was stuck on fast-forward.

The air became thinner.

The lights in the cabin slowly faded before blinking out entirely, leaving the two agents sitting in darkness.

"Don't suppose you've got a torch on you?" Tony ask, attempting to keep his tone light-hearted.

"Why? You're not afraid of the dark are you?"

"No, Probie. I don't have irrational phobias like that," Tony said and McGee pulled a face, which thankfully couldn't be seen in the dark. "I just felt more comfortable with the light..."

"Yeah," McGee muttered. "I know. Weird as it sounds, the light made me think of hope." McGee paused and swallowed roughly. "And now it's gone."

"Hey, none of that now," Tony told him firmly. "Don't lose hope. Gibbs will come for us. Ziva, Abby, Ducky, hell even Palmer. They're coming for us right now. So don't you dare think otherwise."

"And even if they do find us, Tony. Then what? My legs are in pretty bad condition, there is no denying that. And I don't want to have a desk job for the rest of my life," McGee said adamantly and, in the dark, Tony nodded in understanding.

"You're not going to be stuck at a desk, Tim. You're too a field agent."

"I was..."

And somehow, Tony was able to find McGee's arm and slap him.

"I'd give you a proper slap, but I don't want to create any more head damage for you."

Despite the situation, McGee laughed slightly. "Thanks for the consideration, Tony."

"Anytime, Probie. Just don't you give up. Give up and it's all over. And... I'm not ready for it to be over yet."

"Me neither," McGee whispered, barely audibly. When he spoke again after several minutes of silence his voice was louder. "I know I said it before, but I'm really glad you're here with me, DiNozzo."

"I'm glad you're here too," Tony replied, the smile obvious in his voice. "There's no one else I'd rather be with."

"Not even Ziva?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tony exclaimed much to McGee's surprise. "As much as I love her to death, being trapped with her in a box for a day was bad enough. Can you imagine her being cooped up in a smaller area for just as long? Underground!"

"It couldn't have been that bad in that box, could it?"

"Oh, you have no idea, McGee. No idea," Tony continued. "I told you, she shot at the lock after about 10 minutes. The bullet ricocheted off every surface. It was a miracle neither of us were killed."

McGee laughed at that and Tony was secretly pleased to hear his partner's laughter.

"Not funny, Probie!"

"Sorry, Tony," McGee managed to cough out. "But, you know what would be even funnier? Being trapped like this with Gibbs."

"Oh God. Gibbs? That wouldn't be funny, that would be terrifying."

"Ten hours of awkward silence."

"With the possibility of a slap on the back of the head at any time for getting into the situation in the first place."

"That part wouldn't be so bad," McGee countered. "At least it would break the silence."

That sent Tony into laughter with McGee trying to calm him down, while resisting his own urge to laugh. "You know, if we've hit the hysteria stage of this experience, I'm kinda good with it."

"The hysteria stage? Wait, I don't want to know."

"Your loss," Tony shrugged. "If you ever mention we had this conversation to Gibbs, I will personally kill you."

"As if I would, Tony. I'd rather die than admit we were teasing Gibbs."

"Good move," Tony approved. "That'd be one slap I'd never recover from..."

In the dark and unseen, McGee nodded. The car was once again filled with a companionable silence.

"Seriously though, Tony," McGee spoke later on. "I'm glad it's you."

"Tim, I know," Tony replied and finding his partner's hand in the darkness, he took it and gave a reassuring squeeze. No matter what, they were in this together and that was what mattered.

Whatever the outcome, they still had each other. And in the hours to come, they clung onto that thought more and more.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **Anything you recognise is not mine.

_First update of the new year! :D We are back with the team for chapter 14. I apologise if Gibbs seems OOC. I'm putting it down to him not being quite able to cope with the fact McGee and Tony have only hours to live and he might not be able to save them... Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And please leave a review. :)_

* * *

**Fourteen**

Nearly an hour had passed since Ziva and Gibbs had last spoken. Now, the silence was broken as Gibbs swore.

"Gibbs?"

Mentally kicking himself for not thinking of this earlier, he removed a hand from the wheel and pulled out his cell. "Shoulda phoned ahead. Son of a bitch..."

Ziva's eyes widened but she remained silent as Gibbs put the phone to his ear. "Put me through to Blackburg," his voice was strained and gruff. There was a pause before a reply was heard; a tinny voice that sounded loud in the quiet car.

"_Sheriff Jim Wilkins."_

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS."

"_How can I help you, sir?"_

"Need you to start a ground search in Jefferson National Forest. I have two missing agents that have been kidnapped and buried alive. We've narrowed down the area to a two mile radius."

Sheriff Wilkins instantly sounded more serious when he replied. _"I can rope the area off and have a scout team go through immediately. What are the coordinates?"_

Gibbs swore again. Abby had only printed out a map and he kicked himself again for forgetting such routine procedures. Despite every refrain, it was clear he was still being deeply affected by the loss of Tony and Tim.

"_Agent Gibbs?"_

"Give me your cell number. I'm driving. Someone will text the numbers through soon."

"_One second."_

Gibbs passed the phone to Ziva. "Take down the cell number he gives, then get Abby on the phone for me."

Ziva nodded, taking the phone and a moment later she wrote down the numbers. "Thank you, Sheriff," she said and disconnected before he could reply. Speed dial four got her through to Abby instantly and she passed the cell back to Gibbs as it rang.

"_Gibbs?"_

"Listen to me, Abby. I need you to get the coordinates for the Jefferson Forest, map, radius... thing," his mind had drawn a blank and had settled on trying to communicate in basic terms. He swallowed roughly and pushed the worry back, refusing to let it overwhelm him further.

"_Hold on, Gibbs. I can get them..." _Gibbs could hear a brief rustling and then the muffled questioning of Ducky's voice.

"Abs, where are you?"

"_In the truck with Ducky and Jimmy," _was the firm reply. _"You couldn't just leave me back in my lab. I would have..."_

"I know, Abby. It's fine," he cut her off gently. "Do you have the coordinates?"

"_Yes."_

"Ok, I'm passing you to Ziva. Give her the numbers."

"_Wait Gibbs..." _But the older man had already passed the phone. He knew Abby was about to offer words of comfort and he didn't want to hear them.

It took less than five minutes for Ziva to take down the coordinates, text them to the Sheriff and get a reply of thanks with a promise that they were starting to rope off the area and begin searching. Ziva relayed everything to Gibbs and received a grunt of thanks in return.

"Did you want me to drive, Gibbs?" He had been driving continuously for the past three hours.

"No, it's-"

"You won't be doing any good if you get tired and crash," Ziva pointed out and Gibbs shot her a murderous look. How could she even suggest he'd fall asleep at a time like this? "You know I will drive as fast as you do."

And Gibbs almost laughed. Ziva could definitely match him in driving speed. "Fine," he said.

They pulled over into the dirt and swapped seats with a quickness that would have been impossible any other time. Ziva speed off less than a minute later, leaving a spray of gravel and dust behind her.

~ *XX* ~

It was late again, he was back at the wheel and Gibbs realised he'd only had 4 hours sleep in the past 36 or so hours. Ziva had driven a short while, but he refused to sleep. He couldn't even think about resting. Not until he'd found McGee and DiNozzo. His two agents he didn't ever want to lose. Not like this. So he kept on driving, fully aware that Ziva sat beside him, as wide awake with fear and worry as he was.

Neither spoke as they hammered along the highway, hours passing as they chewed up the miles.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **Anything you recognise below does not belong to me.

_Warnings must be issued for much angst. There will be a lot more of this in the next couple of chapters, so be prepared. :) That said, I hope you still all enjoy this. I would have updated yesterday, but it was my birthday and I was rather distracted. :P _

_Reviews are love. Enjoy! :)_

_(ETA: Thanks to _peachmikey11 _for pointing out that it's _pneumonic plague _not _bubonic plague.)

* * *

**Fifteen**

Tony wasn't entirely sure where the time had gone, but when he next looked at his watch (it had convenient glow-in-the-dark hands), they were down to three hours left. Three hours, including the extra hour the tyre air has provided, until they lost consciousness and only a little longer after that until air wouldn't be a problem for them at all.

"How long?" McGee's voice came out as a whisper. Somehow he was able to sense Tony checking the time in the dark.

"Bit less than two hours," Tony said and gave a sudden rasping cough.

"You alright?"

"Sure," Tony said with a grimace and he fought to take a few deep breaths. He'd known this was coming. He'd know it would eventually end like this. His scarred lungs from pneumonic plague nearly four years ago were beginning to fail with the lack of oxygen.

But he couldn't let Tim know. Not yet. He couldn't risk the younger man losing hope. But Tony's wishes were cut short as McGee spoke again.

"Oh God... Tony..." McGee muttered in sudden realisation and if there was light, Tony was sure he would have seen a look of horror on his friend's face.

"It's ok, McGee," Tony said roughly swallowing.

"No... God, no. It's not. You're lungs, Tony. Why didn't you say something? God, I should have..." McGee trailed off.

"Don't. Please, just don't. I'm going to be fine. Hey, I'm not the one with a cracked skull and a cut the size of Cleveland down my leg."

"And I'm not the one with plague scarred lungs and a scrambled head," McGee retorted. "You should have said something. You should have reminded me."

"It wouldn't have made any difference, Tim," Tony said and McGee sighed knowing he was right. "Besides, we had more important things to worry about besides my pathetic lung capacity."

McGee snorted lightly, in clear disagreement. "You should at least have some water or something... is there any left?"

"Yeah, I think," Tony croaked and he groaned briefly as he reached around for the bottle of water. Finding it, he took a few grateful gulps before handing it to his partner. "Do you need any more painkillers?"

As if on cue, McGee's leg throbbed in pain and he nodded. "Yeah. Have you got them there?"

"Yeah," and Tony pressed the pills into McGee's hand.

"Thanks."

They descended into silence again. A heavy, depressed silence that neither really felt comfortable in.

Another hour passed.

Somewhere along the way, they'd both come to an unspoken agreement to limit their talk and therefore their oxygen intake.

Together they sat in near silence. The only sounds were Tony's rasping breaths, which occasionally broke into coughs. McGee could only sit and listen. There was nothing he could do. They were both running out of air and Tony's lungs would fail first. If they weren't found, Tony would be the first to die.

After all the comfort the older agent had given to support McGee and keep him from losing hope; after all that and Tony was still going to die first. He'd known and he'd never even let on.

The possible hysteric reminiscing was in the past, as was the heartfelt letter writing and the comforting words.

All that was left was the silence and the darkness.

~ *XX* ~

So near and yet so far away from Tony and Tim, Gibbs and Ziva arrived at their destination.

Gibbs slammed on the breaks and the Challenger skidded to a halt in the dirt carpark at the entrance to the National Forest. A location which, according to the map, marked the edge of the narrowed down two mile radius in which they had to search.

Ziva and Gibbs both left the car quickly to be met by the local sheriff and the National Forest volunteers.

"Sheriff Wilkins, sir, ma'am," he offered a hand, which neither Gibbs nor Ziva took. "We spoke on the phone, yeah?"

"Special Agent Gibbs, David," Gibbs introduced them with a flash of his badge.

"And don't call me ma'am," Ziva added, earning an indifferent nod from the sheriff.

"I did as you requested. Local LEO's roped off the two mile radius you specified and National Park volunteers are already searching the area for any recent disturbances in the ground," the sheriff continued and Gibbs gave a satisfied nod.

"Has anything... been found yet?" Ziva asked.

The Sheriff nodded and pointed to markers laid out on the other side of the carpark. "Found two sets of unknown tyre tracks."

"One will belong to a Ford Escape and the other to a vintage Mustang," Gibbs replied. Sheriff Wilkins raised an eyebrow in surprise, but wary of the time limit he didn't comment on Gibbs' knowledge.

"The roped off area is just a short walk from here. I can take you there now."

"Good," Gibbs said. "NCIS's ME is following. He should be here within the next 10 or so minutes. Make sure you keep someone on the gate here to direct him to us."

Sheriff Wilkins called over someone clearly from his own team and repeated what Gibbs had said. With that organised the sheriff lead Gibbs and Ziva to a well used path.

Gibbs checked his watch. They had just over two hours to go until Tony and Tim ran out of air.

Time was running out.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **NCIS still does not belong to me. I'm just borrowing the characters. :)

_And so we continue with Chapter 16. I'm more happy with the second half of this chapter and a bit unsure with the first half. I hope you enjoy it all anyways. :) And sorry for the lack in updating - the flooding we've had here has knocked out our internet access. Only got it back in the last 24 hours. Anyways, I do hope to update soon, but I can't make any promises. :) Reviews are love. _

* * *

**Sixteen**

As they followed Sheriff Wilkins towards the cordoned off area, Ziva studied the tyre tracks in the car park. They disappeared as they headed towards the forest. The trees were tall and dense at the top, but below they were rather evenly spaced and the path they currently walked along was more than wide enough to allow room for a car.

Swallowing an unexpected lump in her throat, Ziva realised this would be harder than she expected.

The Sheriff's radio crackled into life just as they entered the roped off area. _"We're digging at six recently disturbed areas now, Sheriff. Nothing else has been found at the moment."_

"Keep searching," Sheriff Wilkins replied. "I got the NCIS Agents here now. We're coming in to start our own searching. Keep in contact."

The sharp reply of _"yes, sir" _came through before the Sheriff clipped the radio back onto his belt. "How'd you want to do this, Gibbs?"

"You stay with me, Sheriff," Gibbs said. "Ziva-"

"We can search a wider area if I go off by myself," she replied and Gibbs nodded the affirmative.

"Keep your mobile on."

"Of course," Ziva nodded and she turned left, heading off the man made path to begin her own search.

Gibbs watched her go for a moment before turning to the Sheriff again. "We'll take the right hand side of the path."

Sheriff Wilkins nodded. "The local LEO's and the park volunteers are all under orders to report to me immediately if they find something and to update me every 10 minutes."

Gibbs could only nod his head. They had two hours left.

~ *XX* ~

Abby leapt from the truck as it arrived. Ducky and Jimmy followed her just as quickly.

"Sirs, Ma'am," a young LEO came over to them. "You're the NCIS ME's?"

"Yes. I do believe it is written on the truck," Ducky pointed out, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Uh... sorry. The other agents have already arrived and I'm to take you into the roped off area."

Abby raced around to the back to collect the metal detectors. The young LEO gave her a look of feverish admiration when she returned. She was still wearing her platform boots, a black skirt, red top, her hair was in pigtails and the bag of metal detectors was slung over her shoulder. "Let's go," she said and began leading the way. Then she stopped and turned back to the others. "Um... which way is it?"

With a smile, the LEO raced ahead and lead the way into the forest. Ducky phoned Gibbs to let them know they'd arrived and then the searching began.

~ *XX* ~

The two hours they had left passed as though they were two minutes.

They remained silent, neither wanting to express their fears. Tony concentrated solely on his breathing. In. Out. In. Out. If he kept concentrating on it, maybe he'd last longer and hold on for McGee. He didn't want to contemplate anything else.

On the other side of the car, McGee listened to Tony's breathing. His own pain had worsened, but he pushed it back determinedly.

"Tim..." Tony's voice shattered the silence.

"Yeah, Tony I'm here."

"Tim... I..." Tony paused to take a long shuddered breath, but the lack of oxygen in the air and his scarred lungs did not help ease the feeling of suffocating. "I don't think..."

The pain in McGee's legs and his throbbing headache returned instantly to a point of pure agony. For a second McGee wasn't sure if he could go on like this, but didn't let on. Tony was the one that needed his support now.

"What? No, Tony," McGee said, sounding just as out of breath as his partner. He refused to start panicking, but he couldn't keep the fear from his voice. "DiNozzo, Tony, come on. Don't give up now."

"I'm sorry," Tony panted. "The air... it's just..."

"Don't think about that, Tony. Just don't. It's..." he paused to draw breath. "It's going to be fine."

"No, Tim... it's not," Tony said. "I... I can't breathe. My lungs, they can't and I just... I just want it to end."

"No, don't talk like that," McGee muttered, chocking back a sob. "You can't give up after everything we've been through. Think of Ziva, she wouldn't want you to give up. She'd kill you if she knew you were giving up." An hour ago that would have brought a laugh to Tony's lips. This time it didn't.

"Ziva..." his voice was dangerously weak.

"Yeah, that's right," McGee gave a small smile.

"No... listen, McGee. I kn... I know I wrote it down, but, if you survive this, tell her how much..." he paused to draw a shallow breath. "How much I love her. And my Dad. Tell him I'm sorry. Please, Tim. Tell them... and..." he trailed off and McGee feared for the worst. Reaching out in the darkness he found Tony's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"And?" McGee encouraged. "Tony? DiNozzo? Come on, Tony. Talk to me!"

There was a weak cough from Tony and McGee sighed, thankfully. "And... take care of them for me, Tim."

"I promise, Tony," McGee said, refusing to wipe the tears now pouring down his cheeks.

"Thank you... for everything, Tim. My little Probie. I'm... I'm so proud of you. Thank you,"

"Tony... I... Tony?"

But the senior agent spoke no more. And while McGee could still find a slow and weak pulse, deep down he knew Tony would only return to consciousness if they were rescued. And soon. Finding his throat choked up, McGee bit back a sob and took a deep breath. Or at least he tried to take a deep breath. The air was becoming too thin and McGee didn't think he'd have much longer until he, too was unconscious.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **NCIS belongs to CBS, not to me.

_Another short chapter, I'm sorry. It just seems fitting to end it here... on another cliff-hanger, I'm afraid, too. Please don't hate me *cowers* Anyway, I do hope you continue to enjoy this. My knowledge of American National Parks etc is not great, so I'm hoping that this is all seeming plausible still. :) _

_On a final note, I'd like to congratulate everyone who has reviewed. I've made it past 200 reviews! :D You guys have all been fantastic and so very supportive. Thank you and enjoy!_

* * *

**Seventeen**

For nearly two hours, Gibbs, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy, Sheriff Wilkins, scores of LEO's and National Park volunteers searched the area.

For nearly two hours they found nothing.

And Gibbs couldn't help the feeling of failure that slowly began to fall over him. He didn't want to think about what would happen if they couldn't find Tony and McGee, but it seemed that was all his mind could focus on. He'd come close to losing agents before. He'd _lost _agents before and with a pang he remembered Kate. But this was different. Tony and Tim could be just feet away and Gibbs would have no idea. He had to find them. He needed to. And yet he couldn't.

Sheriff Wilkins had gone from being helpful to somewhat annoying as he suggested that each patch of disturbed soil could hold a car underneath it. As well as Abby, a few of the National Park volunteers had metal detectors, but there was never anything detected where the Sheriff suggested.

Nearly a mile away, Ziva walked on her own, not trusting herself to be near other people. All she could think of was her friend back in Mossad. All she could see was her dead, stale face. Only now she was imagining the dead faces of Tony and McGee.

And no matter how many times she forced it away, her mind always came back to that image.

Every recently disturbed areas of forest that Abby found proved to be nothing than more than red herrings. And while Abby had a few brief moments of elation as her metal detector picked up something, they simply turned out to be lost coins, metal pens and even an old necklace. Her elation was lost again.

Jimmy and Ducky walked not far from her, each of them with their own metal detectors and each of them coming up empty handed.

Time had nearly run out and they seemed no closer to finding Tony and Tim.

Abby began silently crying as she walked along, the tears making the way down paths which they had made earlier. She barely noticed them any more.

And many yards away, Gibbs felt the despair overwhelm him.

He'd failed.

Time was up and he hadn't found Tony and Tim. He'd failed them. He'd failed his team.

~ *XX* ~

"GIBBS!" Abby's excited voice suddenly echoed around the forest, drowning out the shrill beeping of her metal detector. She'd found something; something a lot larger than a lost coin.

"What have you found, Abs?" He was beside her in seconds, having sprinted nearly 200 feet to reach her.

"Something large, metal and about the size of a vintage Mustang."

"Abby, are you sure?"

"When have I ever let you down, Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded and then whistled loudly. Every volunteer, officer, NCIS agent in the near vicinity instantly looked up. With a wave he directed them over. "Start digging," he commanded. "We think we've found something."

"This looks hopefully, Gibbs," the sheriff drawled, bending down to examine the ground. "Fresh soil suggested it was disturbed recently."

"I'd believe you if you hadn't said that the past time we thought we had something," Gibbs muttered. Ignoring the sheriff's glare, Gibbs pulled out his cell and speed dialled Ziva.

"_David."_

"Ziva, we may have something."

"_I'm on my way."_

Gibbs snapped the phone shut and took the shovel that was handed to him. There was no time to bring in heavy machinery in order to shift the dirt and besides, they knew the car wouldn't be too far down, since Tony had been able to send a message. Beside him, Abby had begun to dig, using a smaller shovel. Tears were sliding down her face and Gibbs suspected the action was subconscious; she didn't seem to notice it.

It was mere minutes later when Gibbs' shovel struck metal. In a single motion everyone turned to look at him, including Ziva who had arrived moments earlier. Using bare hands he quickly brushed the soil back, revealing the silver paint of Tony's mustang.

Then there was a bang of someone knocking. Against all their despair and loss of hope, someone inside the car was still alive. Gibbs jumped back in surprise, feeling the numbness of relief flood through him.

"Oh my God..." Abby trailed off. "We've got to..."

She fell to the ground and knocked back against the roof of the car. There was a final knock in reply. "Windows, Gibbs. We've got to get to the windows."

Shaking off the numbness, Gibbs moved towards the side of the car, where the windows were. Gently and without speaking, he began to dig there, until the dirty glass of the window was revealed. As the light shone through, the slumped form a body became visible.

~ *XX* ~

McGee nearly jumped out of his skin when there was deafening bang from above. It was distinctive sound of metal hitting metal. Hope sparked up in his chest.

"HEY!" He tried shouting against the thin air. A tiny croak came out. Ignoring the increasing pain in his leg, he reached upwards and banged on the roof of the car. "I'm... I'm in here!"

The spark of hope flared as someone knocked in reply. They knew he was there. With one final grunting effort, he reached up and knocked one last time. He was saved. They were saved.

With a final effort he reached for Tony's wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but fainter than ever. Or was McGee simply imagining it? His own heart was suddenly racing and he couldn't think clearly.

He was finally reaching the final moments. There was no air left to support him. There was another bang from his left, but exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed him in the non-existent air. And with that, he slumped back and slowly closed his eyes, surrendering to the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and the Gravedigger do not belong to me.

_And so I bring you the chapter I suspect you have all been waiting for. :) I hope you like how I've done this and I hope you can forgive me for ending it on another slight cliffhanger... Also I have only one (or two...) chapters to go and then the epilogue until this is finished. Enjoy and please leave a review. :)_

* * *

**Eighteen**

Gibbs scraped away at the dirty door window, drawing panicky breaths. He couldn't make out the identity of the slumped form before him, but somehow that didn't matter. His Tony and his Tim were inside. He needed to get them out. Mindlessly he continued to scramble at the car window. He must get air to them. He had to... He had to...

"Gibbs!" Abby was shouting somewhere to his right, but it sounded as though she was eons away.

"Gibbs! Jethro!" A hand on his shoulder broke his reverie and he flinched, looking up at Ziva. Blinkingly he turned back to the window, concentrating on it rather than the body beyond it. The glass was thin and already cracked at the corner. With sudden revelation, he realised he could get to them.

"Stand back," Gibbs growled. And without waiting for an answer, he drew his fist back and smashed it into the window.

It shattered. Glass cut into Gibbs' knuckles and forearm, but he was oblivious to the pain and the blood that welled from the wounds. As the glass broke, a stale stench rose from the inside of the car. The unmistakable smells of blood and death.

"DiNozzo! McGee!" Gibbs shouted as he smashed the remaining glass from the window frame. There was no reply and he could hear the sounds of Abby, sobbing now, over his shoulder. "Tony! Answer me. Come on. Tim!"

He leaned forward and saw McGee slumped on the other side of the backseat. Tony sat deathly still closest to them. Hands bloodied from the glass cuts, he reached out to Tony.

"DiNozzo?" His voice was suddenly soft and Gibbs was sure he heard Ziva whimper.

And then there was a gasp. A gasp from inside the car.

McGee drew a deep breath, feeling relieved as the oxygen hit his lungs. Gasping, he drew another breath.

"Tim!"

McGee opened his eyes and instantly squinted. Sunlight shone through the window opposite him. And Gibbs' face was visible, backlit and framed in the window. If McGee had not just returned to consciousness, he would have realised his boss was crying.

"Boss..." McGee croaked out. "Get Tony... He... I think he's alive... But his lungs..."

Gibbs felt a shudder go through him. How could he have forgotten Tony's scarred lungs? Mentally kicking himself and feeling slightly sick, he managed to make his mouth work. "It's ok, Tim. You're going to be ok."

"Timmy!" McGee heard Abby's voice from outside and his heart began thumping faster in his chest. Abby was here. Abby had come for him too.

A stab of pain shot up his leg and he let out a groan.

"Tim?" Gibbs said.

"Nothing," McGee said, pushing it back. Gibbs had to get to Tony first. Tony had to be ok. "Please... Just get Tony..."

"We're getting Tony, Tim. Don't worry now."

Gibbs then reached into the car. Again he ignored as the sharp window frame edges cut into his arms and shoulder. It wasn't important. Slowly he closed his arms around Tony's chest. Struggling, he carefully began drawing Tony up towards the window.

McGee watched for a moment, barely conscious and aching all over. But then he started forwards, knowing they'd need his help to get Tony free. Fighting against the pain, he crawled forward. Dizziness overwhelmed him and blurred vision swam before him. However he still fought forward, reaching the other side of the car in time to help guide Tony's legs through the window.

McGee slumped forward and watched as Tony was laid upon the ground. Ziva crouched over his body, tears streaming down her face. And then Ducky was there, performing CPR. Another unknown man stood slightly to the side of this scene, talking into a mobile phone. McGee strained, but he couldn't make out the words. The man then snapped his phone shut and turned to Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs. The emergency chopper is fifteen minutes away. They've got enough room and fuel to take them both back to Maryland General Hospital."

McGee heard Gibbs from somewhere nearby. "Thank you, Sheriff."

The junior agent then closed his eyes. Gibbs' voice sounded again, calm and soothing. "We've got you, Tim. Come on..."

Through the haze of pain and emotion and relief, McGee felt someone pull him up towards the light. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on a surprisingly soft surface and tall trees surrounded him. He became aware of more people; lots of people. And there were cries from around him, but he couldn't make out the words.

And then Abby's teary, make-up smudged face appeared before him. Over and over again she was repeating, "I love you. I love you. I love you." Kisses were pressed on his cheeks, forehead and lips. And, out of it though he was, he could see and feel the relief that radiated from her. He gave a slight smile. "I know..." he managed to say.

"Tony's going to be ok, too," Abby told him. "He's still unconscious, but he's breathing on his own again and Ducky found a pulse. It's weak, but it's there..."

McGee felt as though a weight had been lifted. Tony was breathing again. He was going to be ok. Relief flooded through him and tears prickled in his eyes again. "Good," McGee said, his voice breaking in the emotion. Tony was going to be ok. He tried to sit up and twist his head to see, but Abby forced him back.

"Your leg's broken and bloodied and... and your head's also..." she trailed off with a sympathetic wince.

"I know," McGee replied. He blinked and then suddenly Abby was gone, replaced by Gibbs.

"You alright, McGee?" his voice was more worried and caring than McGee had ever heard it.

"Yeah, boss."

Gibbs gave him a rare, reassuring smile. "You're going to be fine, Tim. Tony, too. A chopper is on it's way to take you home and fix you up. You're both going to be ok. You're safe now."

McGee tried to nod, but his head throbbed again. He grunted something, which he hoped sounded like 'thank you'.

He faded in and out of consciousness for what seemed like an age. Abby held his hand tightly and refused to let go. McGee concentrated on that rather than the pain that throbbed through his body. And then he heard the steady sound of a helicopter. Gibbs' reassuring, familiar face appeared before him again. "It's going to be ok, Tim. You're both going to be ok."

And Gibbs' face was the last thing McGee saw as unconsciousness fell upon him once more.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and the Gravedigger do not belong to me.

_And so we continue with chapter 19. As always, I do hope you enjoy this. :) I regret to say, however, that this is probably the third last chapter. I have one more to go and the epilogue and then it will be finished. For this chapter, I should warn you that my skills in writing hospital scenes are really rather poor. Apologies in advance for that, but I hope everything makes sense and is generally ok. (Bonus points for all who work out how I named the doctor in this.) And please leave a review, of course. :P_

* * *

**Nineteen**

The NCIS team sat in the waiting room of Maryland General Hospital.

Gibbs sat two seats away from everyone else in stony silence. Abby and Ziva sat together, murmuring quietly. And Jimmy and Ducky sat beside them, listening intently to those at the nurse's station for any news.

They had arrived not long before and had been ushered into a waiting room, despite Gibbs' demands to see McGee and DiNozzo. So far they knew nothing and Gibbs had to refrain from shouting his fury.

Gibbs' mind was working at a phenomenal pace. It switched rapidly between his concern for his agents and the burning hatred for the sonovabitch who had done this to them. Half of him wanted to leave right now and go after the "Gravedigger" and not rest until he was locked up. But the other half was telling him that Tony and Tim were still recovering and they needed him.

He glanced over at the other four that sat near him. None of them seemed to be aware of the battle that was raging in his mind.

Thankfully, Gibbs' thoughts were interrupted as a tall, kind looking man in a white coat headed over towards them. Gibbs stood up, thinking how best to demand answers of the man.

"I'm Doctor Greg Wilson," he held out a hand, which Gibbs reluctantly took. "I'm currently overlooking the care of Agents Timothy McGee and Anthony DiNozzo."

"What's their status?" Ducky asked and Gibbs turned to see the others behind him, all looking slightly worried.

"Agents McGee and DiNozzo arrived five hours ago," Doctor Greg Wilson told them all.

"Are they still-?" Abby began, automatically fearing the worst.

"It's alright," the doctor smiled reassuringly. "They're both ok at the moment. They were given oxygen on the flight over. Agent DiNozzo regained consciousness, however we had to knock him out again as the stress of waking up resulting in the collapsing of one of his lungs."

Abby gasped and Ziva's eyes widened in horror.

"He is doing well now," Doctor Wilson continued. "He is still unconscious and currently in recovery. Agent McGee went into emergency surgery for both his left leg and his head when he arrived. He's only just left the surgery."

"What recovery times are we looking at?" Gibbs asked.

"They have both been through an extremely traumatic experience, Agent Gibbs," the doctor said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "And we have no idea what mental state they will be in when they wake up. On the physical level, Agent Dinozzo's lung damage may prevent him from some extreme physical activities. I understand he had pneumonic plague?"

"Yes," Ducky answered. "Four years ago. I believe he made an exceptional recovery, however."

"I don't deny it. But this additional stress on the lungs may cause further respiratory distress in the future." he said.

"Of course," Ducky replied in understanding.

"What about Timmy-? I mean... Agent McGee's recovery?" Abby asked.

"Agent McGee's injuries are more extensive. We were unable to place his leg in a proper cast due to the flesh wound. This will obviously lengthen the recovery time. And even after it has been fixed, he will undoubtedly need some physio treatment."

"What about his head injury?"

"The head injury looked bad, only because head wounds bleed a lot," Doctor Wilson explained. "He sustained concussion, but under the circumstances he has recovered well from it."

"When can we see them?" Ziva asked, somewhat softly.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you see them yet." the doctor said, looking genuinely apologetic. "Both Agents McGee and DiNozzo are in the recovery ward and _need _solid, uninterrupted recovery. I can allow you in to see them when they are conscious again."

Gibbs looked as though he was about to argue, but Ducky laid a hand on his arm. "Thank you, doctor," he said with a smile.

Doctor Wilson nodded, "You will be the first to know when they regain consciousness. If you leave you numbers I will have someone contact you at home if you-"

"We're not going anywhere," Gibbs said gruffly and four heads nodded in agreement.

"Very well then." he smiled slightly. "We have coffee and tea facilities available if you need and there is a cafeteria on the ground floor. And I do, apologise, but you'll have to excuse me."

Ducky spoke for Gibbs again, "thank you."

As the doctor left them again, they all slowly made their way back to their seats to wait. All of them willing to wait as long as they had to.

~ *XX* ~

The first thing McGee noticed was the soft surface on which he was lying.

And then he noticed the pain, or rather the lack of pain. Everything seemed to have descended into numb comfort. It was the most peaceful he'd been in such a long time, he thought with an inward smile.

There was a steady beeping coming from somewhere to his left and he realised it was his heartbeat. He was in hospital then. He had been saved.

His mind suddenly reeled and flashes of memory came to him. Being in the car, being with Tony. Hearing the rescue attempts. Seeing Gibbs. Watching as Tony was taken to safety. Hearing the relief in Abby's voice. Gibbs' reassuring voice. The helicopter. The bright lights and then darkness.

And now comfort.

With a groan McGee slowly opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he brought everything into focus. His left leg was bandaged and propped up in a sling.

"Welcome back, Tim," a nurse was suddenly beside him and checking his stats.

"Oh... Uh, thanks," McGee muttered.

The nurse smiled. "You're at Maryland General Hospital in DC. And you're currently in recovery after having surgery two days ago."

McGee frowned slightly, fighting down his sudden worry. Where was Tony? He collected himself before replying. "Tony... Is he..?"

"I was told you'd ask about your partner," she smiled again. "Agent DiNozzo is fine. He's sleeping at the moment. You can see for yourself." And the nurse turned to somewhere on McGee's right. He followed her gaze and a second bout of relief washed over him.

Tony lay, breathing by himself, in a bed five feet away. At that exact moment, however, he stirred as though he felt McGee's eyes on him. Slowly Tony opened his eyes.

And without any hesitation and as though everything was completely normal, he gave a weak smile and said, "Morning, Probie. Late night was it?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and the Gravedigger are not mine.

_Second last chapter, my dear readers. And it's the longest chapter so far, which I hope you'll enjoy. :) It's a bit disjointed at the beginning (due to Gibbs have disjointed/worried thoughts, I think) and I still think Gibbs is OOC, but I did enjoy writing this chapter (especially at the end). I hope to update soon with the epilogue, which will be set 7 months later and will regard the trial of the Gravedigger, as seen on the TV show, _Bones.

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are love._

_(ETA - 31st Jan 2011: It was brought to me attention by some faithful reviewers (Thank you, _**Radafa**_ and _**diana teo**_) that the car would probably not be taken to the crusher and destroyed. It would be kept for forensic investigation purposes. Furthermore, the notes Tony and Tim left were tucked away in pockets and not left in the car (Thank you, _**tegan-loves-ncis-TIVA** _for picking up that continuity error)__. So this chapter has now been changed from the original to fit in more with the continuity of the story so far. Contrary to the above, I will now also be adding in another chapter before the epilogue which will include what was written in the letters.)_

* * *

**Twenty**

The two days of waiting were the longest two days of Gibbs' life. Memories of that time were made up of thoughts and questions and chunks of conversation. He couldn't quite remember all of it.

Questions nagged at the back of his mind; so much it was almost driving him crazy.

Would Tony and McGee even want to come back work at NCIS after this? Or would they be too scarred. Too hurt to come back. Would it be so painful that they simply couldn't? And even if they could, would their physical injuries allow it? Would McGee be content with a desk job if his leg was too badly injured for field work?

The same questions ran circles in his head.

He'd phoned Vance during the long drive back and the NCIS boss had came down to the hospital for a face-to-face sit rep. He'd left soon after with promises he'd update Sec Nav and be in touch. Gibbs had then found the time to phone Fornell and give him an update. It was then that the FBI agent had first mentioned the Bureau taking over the investigation of the "Gravedigger". Gibbs had instantly refused. He wanted the satisfaction of catching the bastard himself. Fornell had argued back and Gibbs had hung up, frustrated and angry.

Then, after what seemed an age, Dr. Wilson had reappeared. He told them that both Tony and McGee were conscious again and both appeared to be mentally stable.

Finally, they were allowed to visit.

~ *XX* ~

Gibbs was the first one of the team to walk through the door into Tony and Tim's room.

The nurse and doctors had agreed to allow multiple people into their room, so behind Gibbs came Abby, Ziva, Ducky and even Jimmy. All of them had waited.

"Boss," Tony greeted with a slight, casual nod of his head. His voice still sounded weak, but he was sitting up in bed and looked much better.

"Hey Tony," Gibbs replied with a smile. "Tim," he looked over at McGee. "How are you both?"

Tony and McGee exchanged a look. "We're both ok, Gibbs," McGee answered.

"Thanks to you."

Gibbs ducked his head and Abby took that moment to grin and rush over to McGee. "Timmy! Oh, Tim. We've been so worried."

"Hey, Abs," McGee pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?" McGee frowned.

"For not telling you how much I loved you, Timmy! You could have died down there and I never would have been able to tell you," she looked positively stricken with the thought. "You never would have known!"

McGee smiled, "Abby, listen to me. I knew. I always have known."

Abby didn't reply, she simply looked at him through wide, shining eyes. Emotion seemed to overwhelm her as she turned and buried her head into McGee's shoulder. Still smiling, he patted her back.

"Awh, how come I don't get any of that?" Tony said. Abby's head shot up.

"Oh, I love you too, Tony!" And she left McGee for a moment to hug the other. "I just don't want to have sex with you."

If McGee had been drinking something at that moment, he was sure he would have choked and died on hearing that. The room was awkwardly silent for a moment, before Gibbs began to chuckle. It didn't take long until the entire room was laughing.

The moments after that seemed blurred together. There was much hugging and well-wishing and thanking that passed between them all. Abby returned to sit beside McGee and the pair held hands. And out of the corner of his eye, McGee watched as Ziva approached Tony's bed for the first time and sat down beside him.

"I'm glad you are ok," Ziva said, awkwardly.

"I'm glad I'm ok, too," Tony agreed and Ziva smiled.

"You don't understand though," Ziva continued.

"What?"

"I..." And, as though she could no longer hold it back, the story of her past and of her friend's death bubbled forth. Tony listened with a silent, horrified look on his face, as Ziva explained it all. How history had seemed to be repeating itself again. How she didn't know what she would have done if they hadn't survived.

"Hey, it's ok Ziva," Tony spoke softly when she finished. "I'm sorry you had to relive it, but it's all in the past now. And everything is going to be ok now. I promise." He smiled and Ziva returned it, albeit weakly.

"I really don't know what I would have done without you, Tony," Ziva whispered. "And I kept thinking about how the last words I'd said to you weren't exactly nice. It seems like so long ago now..."

"You don't need to worry about that anymore, Ziva," Tony said and he took Ziva's hand in his. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you, Tony," Ziva replied and she leant forward to press a kiss against his forehead.

~ *XX* ~

A while later, Tony was still sitting up and watching everyone rather closely. A thought had just occurred to him. He glanced over at Tim and knew, by the look he received, they were both thinking and worrying about the same thing.

What had happened to the car? And what had happened to their clothing and their notes of farewell that they contained?

"What happened after we... after we were taken here?" McGee asked.

"Yeah, what happened to my car?" Tony added and McGee knew the implied question behind it.

"You're still concerned about your car?" Palmer asked and Tony shot him a look, which fondly said 'I wasn't asking you, autopsy gremlin'.

"It was officially signed over to the FBI," Gibbs said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Fornell's taking over the case." If Tony and McGee looked surprised by the fact Gibbs had allowed the case to go to the FBI (although, grudgingly), they didn't show it.

"So... everything that was in the car..?" Tony further questioned. "Our stuff... and our clothes?"

"All to the FBI," Ziva said. Feeling Gibbs' glare, she added, "Probably for the best." Tony and McGee shared a glance, both equally worried that their goodbye notes had been sent to the FBI, where they would have been read by Fornell.

"You should have seen the blood," Abby suddenly whispered.

"We did," McGee replied with a sad smile. He squeezed her hand in reassuring comfort. Then clearing this throat, he sighed. "And Ziva's right. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I don't want to ever see the inside of that car again. Let the FBI deal with it." McGee continued, shooting a pointed look at Tony. "Too many bad memories."

"Yeah..." Tony said, trailing off in reluctant agreement.

~ *XX* ~

It was later that night when Gibbs was the only one left in the room. Relieved to see Tony and Tim were alright, Ducky and Jimmy had both gone home, with the promise they would visit again tomorrow. Ziva and Abby had left (only momentarily) for food, leaving the boss alone with his agents.

"McGee, DiNozzo," Gibbs began, using their last names as a sign he was talking business. Tony and McGee shared a look. Somehow they had both known this conversation was coming. They knew exactly what Gibbs was about to say.

"It's alright, Gibbs," McGee spoke before their boss could continue.

"We know what you're about to ask us and the answer is still yes," Tony added, rather firmly.

Gibbs frowned and glanced between them. "You still want to work at NCIS? For me? After everything that's happened?" He had never sounded so unsure in his entire life.

"If you'll have us back," Tony said. "Damaged goods and all..."

Gibbs shook his head. "I let you down," he said, sadly. "I never should have let anything like this happen. It's all my fault. I should have been there..."

"No," McGee said and he suddenly found himself reassuring his boss. "This wasn't your fault. This was none of our faults. No one let anybody down."

"What Probie said," Tony agreed. "This was that Gravedigger's fault. And once the FBI had dealt with him, we'll come back and help you catch other bastards like him. No matter how long this recovery takes."

Gibbs smiled, fondly. "Once you've rested, DiNozzo. You both need to rest right now."

"We're still coming back," Tony said simply.

"Always," McGee agreed.

Gibbs' smile widened to the largest, relieved grin Tony and Tim had ever seen.

And they knew everything was going to be ok.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **NCIS and the Gravedigger character are not mine... hard to believe, aye!

_I hope you don't mind, but I have decided to add a chapter in before the epilogue. I have also changed the previous chapter slightly after come continuity errors were pointed out to me by reviewers. You know who you are and thanks again! __Please feel free to go back and read chapter 20 before continuing with this one._

_I think you'll be pleased to know that I have included the goodbye letters in this chapter. They were both rather difficult to write, but I think I did ok. I made McGee's a lot more soppy and sad, whereas Tony's is more heartbreakingly truthful and regretful. _

_But please, enjoy! Reviews are love - and this is now officially my most popular story with over 360 reviews! :) Congratulations, everyone! _

* * *

**Twenty One**

Tony and McGee were in recovery for the next two weeks before they were allowed to leave. McGee had the sneaking suspicion that Tony had been allowed to leave earlier, but had stayed just to keep him company.

The pair had been talking contentedly on what was to be their second last day in hospital, when they had an unexpected visitor.

"Afternoon. DiNozzo, McGee." FBI Agent Tobias Fornell stood in the doorway. McGee shot Tony a questioning look and the older agent replied with a shrug.

"Afternoon," McGee said.

"Fornell," Tony nodded his head, slightly less welcoming than McGee.

"How are you boys doing?"

"Recovering well," McGee answered with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked. "How's the investigation going?"

"I'm sorry," Fornell said and actually sounding it. "I'm not allowed to disclose any of the investigation details." Tony opened his mouth, intending to spit out a scathing retort, but Fornell cut him off. "However, I do wish to discuss the matter of the... notes we found in your clothing." Fornell gave a sigh and ran a hand over his face, looking genuinely awkward and sorry.

"You found them?"

"We found them," Fornell confirmed and Tony and McGee shared another look.

"What... what will...?" McGee trailed off, unsure what he was trying to say.

"I'm here to return them to you," Fornell said, earning looks of surprise from the two bed-ridden agents in front of him.

"But... the investigation?" said Tony. "Surely they are-"

"They will not be necessary for this investigation."

"Not that I'm complaining, but... how come?" Tony asked.

Fornell shifted slightly, "I can't disclose that information. Here." He stepped forward and withdrew two envelopes from his jacket, handing one to Tony and the other to Tim. "And I'm sorry for what you had to go through. Trust me when I say, I will catch this sonovabitch if it's the last thing I do."

Tony nodded his thanks and McGee whispered a small thank you. Neither noticed as Fornell left, their eyes never left the envelopes in their hands.

Silence descended, broken only by the sound of ripping envelopes. With shaking hands, McGee held his and slowly unfolded it. He was determined to read it. Reading it would allow him to let it all go.

_Dear Abby,_

_Firstly, I'm sorry. Not because this may be the last you ever hear of me, but because I lied to you. _

_I NEVER stopped loving you. Not even once. And breaking up with you is the greatest thing I ever regret. Even if it was what you wanted, I never should have let you go. _

_Secondly, if you are reading this, then I'm sorry I left you. It's not your fault. It could never be your fault. And it's not Gibbs' either. Make sure he knows that._

___Finally, take care Abby. Take care of yourself and hold on for everyone else. I'm not saying it will be easy, but keep everyone together. Don't fall apart. And tell Sarah I love her, too. I know you and her get on well already. _

_Well... I suppose I'd better wrap this up. I know it'll sound clichéd, but all clichés come from truth, so I'll say it anyway. Live for me, Abs. Just live for me and don't ever forget me. _

_All my love,_

_Your Timmy. _

A single tear fell from McGee's eyes and splashed onto the paper.

In his own bed, Tony looked at the letter in his hands, ignoring the remnants of the envelope scattered on his sheets. The letter seemed old somehow, as though it had been written years ago. It also seemed shorter than he remembered. The time he had spent writing it, did not reflect the amount which was actually written.

Two lines of crossed out, indecipherable words appeared at the top of the page before the letter.

_Ziva - I'm going to tell you a story. And I'm going to tell you the truth. When I first met you, I disliked you. Which is saying something because you were smokin' hot. I mean... you are now, too. Obviously. And I hope you're shaking your head and laughing at that now, because despite everything, I still want you to smile that radiant smile of yours. _

_And then, I got to know you. And I fell in love. I fell in love with you, Ziva. All my skirt-chasing (don't take that literally) and my teasing just became a charade to hide how I felt. _

___If you're reading this, then I'm probably not going to be there for you. DON'T blame yourself for this and don't let anyone else take the blame. Especially Gibbs. I know you'll find who's done this. _

_I'd do anything for you, Ziva. I've rescued you when you were lost and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm just sorry that I'll probably never get that chance again._

_And I'm sorry I never confessed anything to you before. __I love you. - Tony._

Tony let out a sigh. "Well..." he said to no one in particular. Meticulously, he folded the note and placed it on his bedside table.

There was a sound of rough crumpling of paper and Tony tore his eyes away from the table to look at McGee. The younger agent threw his scrunched up note and envelop at the bin the corner of the room. It hit the rim and bounced off.

"Damn."

"Here, let me." Without a broken leg and the cumbersomeness of crutches, Tony easily heaved himself out of bed, picked up Tim's note and placed it in the bin.

"Thanks," McGee said. "I just... I just had to get rid of it..."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, McGee."

McGee shifted his vision and focused on the folded letter on Tony's bedside table. He gave a weak smile. "Neither do you, Tony."

~ *XX* ~

Fully packed, Tony and Tim left the hospital the following day. McGee was on crutches still and Abby and Ziva had volunteered to help take them home.

The two women were out at the cars when Tony picked the letter up again. Feeling McGee's eyes on him and ignoring them, he swiftly tore the letter up and threw the pieces into the bin. They fell on the scrunched up remains of McGee's own letter.

A weight lifted off him and he turned to his partner with a smile. "Home, Probie?"

McGee returned the smile with ease. "Home," he agreed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: **After all this, NCIS still isn't mine. Neither is the Gravedigger character.

_Well, here it is - the epilogue of _'Gravedigger'. _It's just a short, sweet piece to tie everything together. I've purposely left Ziva and Abby out of this, because when it comes down to it - this story is primarily about Tony and McGee and their friendship. _

_But, most importantly, this chapter is dedicated to all my lovely reviewers. I'm still amazed at how popular this story has become. Thank you all so very much. And to everyone who favourited and/or alerted this, but didn't leave a review - now is your chance. I'd love to hear what you thought of this. :)_

_Thank you again and, please - enjoy! _

* * *

**Epilogue - Seven Months Later**

Tony sat alone in the bull-pen, his eyes determinedly fixed to the small TV screen next to his desk. Today was the day. The last day in the trial of the Gravedigger.

A woman known as Heather Taffet.

"You're here late, Tony," McGee commented, somewhat casually as he came up behind him. Too casually.

"Yeah, McGee," Tony replied thickly, his eyes not leaving the screen. McGee joined him, taking a seat beside his partner. The movement in itself was not hard, but even after months of physio and even though he had been cleared for field duty (albeit only recently), McGee's leg still pained him when he made certain movements.

"Last day," was the only comment McGee replied with and Tony grunted a reply.

It had been a long seven months. The investigation had been handed over to the FBI and the team at the Jeffersonian Institute, so for most of the time NCIS had been kept in the dark, relying on news reports for information (a fact that at times drove them all to a point of great annoyance. Especially Gibbs). It had been six months since then, when things had finally begun to come together. There had been the discovery of the identity of the Gravedigger, the finding of another victim, this time a 10 year boy, the beginning of the trial. And the raw emotion and the horrible and painful memories all came flooding back.

Both Tony and McGee had followed the trial and case religiously, but hardly spoke about it. Neither wanted to voice the fear of the possibility that Taffet would walk.

"You two ok?" Gibbs asked. Both Tony and McGee turned instantly; neither had heard him arrive behind them.

Slowly, Tony and McGee turned to look at each other before returning their attention to the screen. "We're good, boss," Tony answered.

Gibbs nodded to himself but did not believe his agent's reply. The older agent knew how hard his two team members had taken this. How hard it had been to cope and how long it had taken them to recover. Even seven months on, Gibbs knew Tony and Tim were still having nightmares. They had slowly been recovering, but the recent trial had brought it all back to the surface. Turning his eyes to the screen, Gibbs placed a hand each on his agents shoulders in comfort; one of the few signs of care he'd shown them since that day in the National Park and the days that followed in hospital.

Even after everything Gibbs had been through he'd never before come that close to losing two of his best agents and friends. In many ways he knew what emotions and thoughts were going through both Tony and Tim's minds. It was the same as his.

All three wanted this bitch locked up for life for what she had done.

"_And here at the Federal Courthouse the jury's decision has just been handed down. We should be getting the results any moment."_

Beneath his comforting hands, Gibbs felt both Tony and Tim tense. The moment had come. The verdict was about to be released that could finally bring them closure.

"_And yes, here it comes. The jury have found Ms Taffet..._" there was a pause which seemed to drag on forever.

"_... guilty of all charges."_

The resulting effect was not of cheering or celebrating. It was just simple relief and the joy of the case finally closing that washed over them. The seven months of recovery and sleepless nights could finally be laid to rest. The closure and release they had been waiting for had come. They all visibly relaxed, their shoulders slumping in relief.

It was over.

Slowly McGee and Tony turned to look at each other. An unheard conversation passed between them as their faces broke into identical smiles. Standing above them, Gibbs nodded with grim satisfaction and giving his two agents one last shoulder squeeze, he turned and left.

McGee blinked his suddenly shining eyes. The mere relief was overwhelming. But Tony nodded slightly as if to say 'it's ok.' His own eyes had filled with tears.

"Well..." McGee began, not sure what he was going to say. Deep down they both knew nothing really needed to be said.

Tony nodded and reached up to switch off the TV set, before throwing an arm around McGee. "Come on, McGee. I'll take you home."

"Thanks, Tony. For everything," McGee muttered.

"You too, Tim. You too."

And the two shared a final smile before leaving the empty squad-room behind them.

_The end. _


End file.
